Sociopolitical testing discourses in elementary teachers’ talk about reading assessment

Abstract

Purpose The purpose of this work is to describe the current sociopolitical context and complex consequences surrounding elementary literacy education in one Midwestern US state and consider how power works through language. Design/methodology/approach Using qualitative methods and critical discourse analysis as a theory and method, surveys and interview data from teachers, administrators and parents, policy documents and other artifacts were analyzed and described to explain the sociopolitical climate. Findings Using Fairclough (2015) and Gee’s (2015) tools, the authors identified the discourses of deficiency, efficiency and gatekeeping in the data. Foucault’s ideas about governmentality and regimes of truth are used to explain the ways teachers took up the policies and resisted them. Research limitations/implications The authors argue that a new testing regime is on the move, and more unity and critique by elementary and secondary teachers and administrators will be important for restoring and sustaining quality literacy instruction and decision-making in all classrooms. Practical implications Continued research is needed to understand how particular reading assessments exacerbate and perpetuate the ranking and sorting in schools and the loss and struggle children face when they are denied literacy experiences that validate their lives outside of school and give meaning and purpose to reading in school. Originality value As the reality for secondary education language arts teachers begins to shift to a more restrictive curriculum, a loss of academic freedom and frequent testing, the authors see an opportunity for new professional alliances to form in support of a complex theory of literacy.

“The Road Not Taken” in Language Testing: Sociocultural Implications of Test and Teaching Contents

“…In this way, tests and examinations help “subjection of those who are perceived as objects and the objectification of those who are subjected.” (Foucault, 1975, cited in McNamara, 2012, p. 565). Such a narrow perspective is propagated through IELTS, Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL), or other English high stakes which award the honor winner medal to native speakers who could win the exclusive proficiency assessment game in their language (Dendrinos, 2013) even though nonnatives are once called proficient they can pass such tests with naturalized discourse (Schmidt, Jacobs, & Meyer, 2017). Given all, these points strengthen the idea that IELTS serves beyond its supposed language testing function and disapproves its being only a general English test (Noori & Mirhosseini, 2021).…”

“I believe in home language, but the tests don't”: Addressing Linguistic Diversity within Assessment Practices across Literacy Teacher Preparation and Classroom Practice

“…One of the major policy issues facing teachers is that of accountability measures in U.S. public schools. Research has shown that the testing culture has an impact on both teaching and learning in literacy classrooms, including text selection, instructional focus, and curricular design (Anagnostopoulos, 2003;Schmidt, Jacobs, & Meyer, 2017). The question is how, and in what ways, teacher education programs are responsive to these challenges and to the shifting practices within K-12 literacy classrooms.…”