Reece 1

Aubrey Reece

Professor White

ENG 1201

15 Apr 2018

Online Casebook

Farr, Tom. “Standardization Isn't Just Killing Students' Creativity.” Medium, The Synapse, 10 Nov. 2015,

medium.com/synapse/standardization-isn-t-just-killing-students-creativity-3696a87ae391.

Accessed 10 Apr. 2018.

This piece of work was written by Tom Farr and posted November 10, 2015. It is about how standardized

testing is leading to creativity becoming obsolete. He first tells what standardized testing looks like, and

what the education board is trying to accomplish by having them. Then he explains what he has noticed

about its effect on creativity in his students, and even his children.

Tom Farr is a high school English teacher and a father of three children. This is a piece including his

firsthand knowledge of the topic. He knows what he is talking about, because he has experienced it

himself. I used this source because it helps demonstrate that standardized testing is also affecting

creativity and the willingness to learn.

Mathews, Jay. “Just Whose Idea Was All This Testing?” The Washington Post, WP Company, 14 Nov.

2006, www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/11/13/AR2006111301007.html.

Accessed on 10 Apr. 2018.

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This Article was written by Jay Mathews and published November 14, 2006. It explains the history of

standardized testing and the effects its having on today’s educational system. Jay Mathews is an

education columnist for The Washington Post for about 50 years. He is the author of nine books,

including five about high schools. He created and supervises the annual Challenge Index rankings known

as America's Most Challenging High Schools. He has won several awards for education writing, so I

believe he is knowledgeable in this field. This particular article gives me background information on

where Standardized testing comes from.

O'Donnell, Patrick. “AIR Takes over Ohio Testing with Optimism, but Also Controversy.” Cleveland.com,

Cleveland.com, 2 July 2015,

www.cleveland.com/metro/index.ssf/2015/07/air_takes_over_ohio_testing_wi.html. Accessed

10 Apr. 2018.

O'Donnell, Patrick. “Ohio Dumps the PARCC Common Core Tests after Woeful First Year.”

Cleveland.com, Cleveland.com, 2 July 2015,

www.cleveland.com/metro/index.ssf/2015/06/ohio_dumps_the_parcc_common_core_tests_af

ter_woeful_first_year.html. Accessed on 10 Apr. 2018.

These two articles were written by Patrick O’Donnell on July 2, 2015. The first article explains how the

AIR test took over for the failed PARCC test mentioned in the second article. They both show problems

in the two tests and how the people in the US are having major controversy over the tests in general.

Patrick O’Donnell is a reporter over the Cleveland Municipal School District, so he is credible because he

just reports what happens as it happens. I used these articles to show the controversy in these tests.
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Popham, James. “Why Standardized Tests Don't Measure Educational Quality.” Why Standardized Tests

Don't Measure Educational Quality - Educational Leadership, ASCD,

www.ascd.org/publications/educational-leadership/mar99/vol56/num06/Why-Standardized-

Tests-Don't-Measure-Educational-Quality.aspx. Accessed 10 Apr. 2018.

This Article was written by James Popham. It explains what this type of testing is, what its mission is and

the problems with this type of testing. W. James Popham is Emeritus Professor in the UCLA Graduate

School of Education and Information Studies. He has spent most of his career as a teacher for nearly 30

years. At UCLA he won several distinguished teaching awards, and in January 2000, he was recognized

by UCLA Today as one of UCLA's top 20 professors of the 20th century. I used this article to show how

standardized testing is inaccurate.

Strauss, Valerie. “Poet: I Can't Answer Questions on Texas Standardized Tests about My Own Poems.”

The Washington Post, WP Company, 7 Jan. 2017, www.washingtonpost.com/news/answer-

sheet/wp/2017/01/07/poet-i-cant-answer-questions-on-texas-standardized-tests-about-my-

own-poems/?utm_term=.252001900fe3. Accessed 10 Apr. 2018.

This article was written by Valerie Strauss and published on January 7, 2017. In the article, Valerie tells

us about a test where they used a poem from author, Sara Holbrook, and she couldn’t even answer the

question they asked about it. Valerie Strauss covers education and runs The Washington Post's Answer

Sheet blog. She writes and researches pieces for the blog that reflect the changes underway in American

education. She also publishes the work of teachers, parents, researchers and others -- some with whom

she disagrees -- on her blog to expand the range of views that are presented. I used her article because

it is an unbiased representation of real questions asked on these tests that shows just how inaccurate

they are.
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“Teachers Challenging Standardized Testing: Dan Rather Reports on Education in America.” Films Media

Group, 2013, fod.infobase.com/PortalPlaylists.aspx?wID=19259&xtid=114461. Accessed 10 Apr.

2018.

This video is reported by Dan Rather and published in 2013. It tells the story of how teachers and

students are protesting the use of standardized testing, particularly the use of the MAP test. The video

shows live footage of the protest and then several interviews with the teachers and education board. I

used this video, because it really displays how dumb the teachers think this testing is.

Zhao, Emmeline. “Standardized Testing A Foreign Concept In World's Top Education System.” The

Huffington Post, TheHuffingtonPost.com, 16 Jan. 2013, www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/11/16/

standardized-testing-a-fo_n_2145623.html. Accessed 10 Apr. 2018.

This article was written by Emmeline Zhao on January 16, 2013. It explains what Finland does compared

to the US and how much better they are doing than us academically. Emmeline was an educational

writer for the Huffington post. I used this article because it really shows how the US is taking several

steps in the wrong direction when it comes to our education system.