Proposal

Proposal Pitch for Standardized Tests

Sammy North

DeVry University

Proposal for Standardized Tests

I. Introduction

A. Topic

1) Research question: Have standardized tests in the United States improved schools or demonstrated stronger student learning achievement?

2) Working thesis: Standardized tests in the United States have not improved schools and should be abolished and replaced with end-of-year subject tests because they will save time and money, lead to increased mastery of core subjects, and diminish dropout rates.

3) Angle: Standardized testing has made the gap between developed nations and the United States wider. Taxpayers and employers are paying the price of poorly educated graduates. No Child Left Behind has left nobody ahead, least of all our country’s educational standing among other developed nations.

B. Context

1) Issues in education are in the news because budget cuts and school closures are tied to student performance on standardized tests.

2) Though I am a novice scholar, I am a parent and care deeply about education. I will refer to the expertise of several sources that will establish my credibility regarding standardized tests. The ideas of Hillocks (2002), McNeil and Valenzuela (2001), and Ravitch (2011), who are all experts on this topic, will help to establish my credibility.

C. Audience

1) My primary audience will be educational stakeholders who are teachers, parents, or administrators.

2) My secondary audience is my professor and fellow classmates, some of whom may have experienced standardized tests or have school-aged children and will relate to the topic.

3) My audience shares my opinions and values and will likely be on my side.

III. Evidence

A. Research collected so far

I have found support for the recommendation to remove poorly designed tests that don’t measure what they should. Federal mandates such as No Child Left Behind have spurred their growth and the reward-and-punishment...