This study examines the interplay between standards and personalization for linguistically diverse adolescents in a year-long Senior (12th grade) Exhibition project in a U.S. public high school. Focal students included a bilingual Mexican-origin immigrant, a transnational bilingual student of Mexican origin, and an English-only adolescent from California, all female. Qualitative data consisted of multiple drafts of each student’s 15–20 page research essay, interviews, writing conferences, and school-based standards documents. Analyses attended to how conceptions of personalization of learning in relation to a major research and writing assignment were operationalized in the experiences of three learners and the consequences of each approach for the student’s attention to standards in her inquiry and writing processes. Findings highlight the normative power of standards in promoting standardization within the current accountability paradigm and the potential of deep personalization to enhance learning around writing.