Annotated Bibliography
Appelrouth, J. I., & Zabrucky, K. M. (2017). Preparing for the SAT: A review. College and University, 92(1), 2.

In this article, Appelrouth and Zabrucky write for an audience of both educators and students. The purpose of the article is to show how preparation and personal qualities help students to score well on the SAT. It compares favorably to the study by Park and Becks (2015), which also focuses on who benefits from SAT prep. The study here shows that students have to hold themselves accountable and the teachers have to facilitate that process by working with them so that they know what aspects to focus on in order to succeed in the taking of the SAT. This work highlights the idea that the SAT can be successfully taken. It supports the work of this bibliographic topic by showing that individual differences and test preparation have to be considered by teachers if they want to be responsible in terms of assisting students to prepare for college. The question of whether the SAT is a suitable assessment, however, is not answered.

Camara, W. J., Mattern, K., Croft, M., Vispoel, S., & Nichols, P. (2019). A validity argument in support of the use of college admissions test scores for federal accountability. Educational Measurement: Issues and Practice, 38(4), 12-26.

The authors Camara et al. (2019) work for ACT, Inc., and the Northwest Evaluation Association, which could indicate some bias in their article. The intended audience is for schools and teachers. The purpose of the article is to justify the use of college entrance exams like the ACT and the SAT by showing that these tests are accurate reflections of student achievement in school. Compared with the study by Appelrouth and Zabrucky (2017) it focuses on the usefulness of these assessments rather than on the role that prep and personal qualities plays in taking them. However, it is useful to this overall work in that it shows that the end result is indicative of student readiness in terms of moving on to higher education. In other words, these assessments act as a good barometer by which teachers and federal accountability can be assessed alongside student development.

Hyman, J. (2017). ACT for all: The effect of mandatory college entrance exams on postsecondary attainment and choice. Education Finance and Policy, 12(3), 281-311.

Professor at the Michigan Department of Education, Hymen writes on the inequality of education with respect to students who take the ACT. Poor students do not have the ability to pay for the test and thus are more likely to skip on college. The study is written for an intended audience of schools and policymakers so that they will embrace mandatory ACT testing, paid for by the schools so that students can take them even if they are poor. The goal is to get more college enrollment so as to make the future brighter for poorer students. The study is applicable to the work of this bibliography in that it shows that this is a cost-effective way of boosting college enrollment and that it is more cost-effective than traditional student loans. Whereas Camara et al. (2019) suggest that these tests are valid in supporting federal accountability, Hyman (2017) shows that they are also acceptable in terms of creating a more equal educational playing field for all students.

Ingersoll, R., Merrill, L., & May, H. (2016). Do accountability policies push teachers out?. Educational Leadership, 73(8), 44.

The authors are professors at the University of Pennsylvania. The intended audience of the article is schools and schools boards. The purpose of the article is to show that teachers should be held accountable for...…use of tests like the ACT and the SAT to determine who gets to enter college can rule out some students, especially poor ones, or those whose education has focused on areas unrelated to what these assessments measure. The author posits that this is a kind of discrimination that should be addressed. It compares with the work by Camara et al. (2019) by arguing that these assessments are not appropriate and should not be used as the sole criteria for determining who gets into college. It is relevant to this bibliography because it shows that professors and teachers in the field are not all in agreement about the relevance and merits of these assessments and that it may be time for alternative assessments to be used by colleges in determining who gains enrollment.

Soares, J. A. (2012). For Tests That Are Predictively Powerful and without Social Prejudice. Research & Practice in Assessment, 7, 5-11.

The author is a professor at Wake Forest. The intended audience is for policymakers and universities that use the ACT and SAT as a measure for determining who gains enrollment. The author posits that these tests are prejudiced against certain minorities and that other assessments should be used which are predictively powerful. The author argues that the SAT and ACT are not good predictors in determining who will do well in college. The article compares with that by Camara et al. (2019) who argue that these assessments are good predictors. Soares is a professor and Camara et al. are employed by ACT, so it is not surprising that there should be this difference of opinion. The article is relevant to this bibliography because it shows that there is another side to the story: it suggests that the ACT and SAT are being used to prevent certain minorities from gaining…