Cultural and Home Language Influences on Children's Responses to Science Assessments

Abstract

Background A critical issue in academic assessment is the effect of children's language and culture on their measured performance. Research on this topic has rarely focused on science education, because science is commonly (though erroneously) assumed to be “culture free.” Students’ scientific understandings are influenced by the cultural values, experiences, and epistemologies of their home communities. Efforts to minimize cultural bias include designing tests to be “culturally neutral” and, conversely, tailoring assessments to specific cultural groups; both approaches are theoretically and practically problematic. Several studies have focused on testing accommodations for English language learners (ELLs), but accommodations raise validity and feasibility issues and are limited by “English-only” policies. This article stresses the linkages between language and culture, drawing on contemporary literacy theory and research on scientific communities as well as groups traditionally marginalized from science. Objective To examine how children's prior linguistic and cultural knowledge mediates their engagement with school science, as reflected in their responses on science assessments. Participants Over 1,500 students from six elementary schools serving diverse populations. Research Design Project-developed assessments included items requiring students to explain scientific phenomena. Scoring revealed that students misinterpreted some items, and scorers had difficulty understanding some students’ responses. Project personnel then undertook qualitative discourse analysis of responses on all tests. Findings Analysis revealed phonological/orthographic and semantic interference from students’ home languages; responses reflecting students’ cultural beliefs and practices; and “languacultural” features related to genre, authorial voice, pragmatic framing, and textual organization. Conclusions/Recommendations Science tests inevitably contain tacit cultural and linguistic knowledge that is not equally accessible to all students. Using “real-life scenarios” in assessment items may confuse students whose lives do not reflect mainstream norms. Furthermore, English-medium assessments are unlikely to accurately measure ELLs’ science knowledge. Teachers can learn to recognize factors that impede ELLs from grasping or expressing science concepts clearly. They should also ensure that all students understand the discursive and textual conventions inherent in assessment instruments. Linguistic and cultural factors shape science knowledge not only of students but of teachers, scientists, and test developers. Uncovering the factors shaping students’ academic performance requires fine-grained qualitative analysis and collaboration across disciplinary boundaries.

Toward Equitable Assessment of English Language Learners in General Chemistry: Identifying Supportive Features in Assessment Items

“…Previous research, as well as the current study, suggests that the language barrier can play a salient role in the assessment of content knowledge 3,5,7,[11][12][13]16,17,20,21 and should be…”

“…15−18 (2) Scientific terms have meanings that are different from everyday words and, while students may know the everyday definition of terms, they do not necessarily know the meanings of the terms as intended in the context of science. 19,20 (3) Science assessments inevitably contain culturally and linguistically implicit knowledge that is not accessible to all students because science does not operate in a cultural vacuum. 20,21 It is understandable then that assessing a linguistically diverse student body is a difficult endeavor, especially in disciplines that inherently contain a high level of academic language.…”

“…19,20 (3) Science assessments inevitably contain culturally and linguistically implicit knowledge that is not accessible to all students because science does not operate in a cultural vacuum. 20,21 It is understandable then that assessing a linguistically diverse student body is a difficult endeavor, especially in disciplines that inherently contain a high level of academic language. Historically, in an attempt to improve test accessibility, instructors have given ELLs extended time or allowed them to use a dictionary during exams.…”

“…Currently, little is understood on how ELL undergraduates can be assessed in introductory science courses in a fair and reasonable manner. There are longstanding concerns in literature that science and math assessments do not account for language proficiency in evaluating a heterogeneous student population. ,, Studies in K-12 math and science education literature report the following key issues in assessing ELLs: When the language of assessment is not the primary language of the test taker, limited content knowledge can be masked by limited language proficiency. − Scientific terms have meanings that are different from everyday words and, while students may know the everyday definition of terms, they do not necessarily know the meanings of the terms as intended in the context of science. , Science assessments inevitably contain culturally and linguistically implicit knowledge that is not accessible to all students because science does not operate in a cultural vacuum. , …”

'Frog, Where Are You?': A Study on Bahasa Indonesia Interference in Javanese Children’s Speech

“…This wide range of Javanese vocabulary is processed imperfectly by the participants resulting in contextually incoherent sentences. Several previous studies also investigated this semantic interference issue (Luykx et al 2007;Mahon et al 2007). Those previous studies saw this as lexical selection of bilinguals.…”