> educational outcomes and sometimes attach formal incentives and sanctions to levels of performance. The decentralized nature of the American educational system means that there is great variation throughout the country in the use of external examinations to measure students' academic performance (Elmore, Abelman, & Fuhrman, 1996; McDonnell 1994). Some states test students often, at many stages and over many subjects, whereas others do so rarely, if at all. States also differ in their use of test results; some link performance to rewards for schools or students, whereas others use the tests only to monitor students' academic progress (Airasian 1987; Porter 1994). Although states have been playing an increasingly active role in educational reform (Timar 1997), it is not clear what effect these efforts have on educational processes or students'
Advocates of standardized testing feel that teachers and school districts have to be held accountable for what they teach their students and how they teach them. Taylor (2001) wrote that the overall goal for school leaders is "to strengthen their respective schools and students who attend them." In Taylor's article, "Do high-stakes tests pass or fail?" she discusses the role of policy makers who "believe that school reform is a function of greater accountability and that accountability is a function of measurement, which in turn a function of standardized testing."
Baresci et al (2001) agree with the importance of accountability in the school system. In their article, "How does the pendulum swing on standardized testing?" the authors state that supporters for this point of view feel "tests are the only way to hold schools accountable, as well as the only way to determine whether schools, students and teachers really are successful."
Sonny Donaldson, district Superintendent has said, "Keeping tabs on students' performance levels through standardized testing has helped to bring the distri...