What Happens in Praxis, Stays in Praxis: Spatial Theories for Studying High-Stakes Teacher Tests

• In Event: 32.083 - Roundtable Session 12
  In Roundtable Session: 32.083-7 - Educator Identity, Preparation, and Assessment: Framing Teachers as Social Actors

Abstract

This paper brings insights from the “spatial turn” across critical social theory, postmodern geography, and other fields to outline a spatial conception of testing, or test space. My specific focus is high-stakes and standardized teacher licensure exams (such as PRAXIS) that shape the racial diversity of the teaching profession. I outline what spatial theories prioritize for education researchers focusing on high-stakes and standardized tests. I discuss the ways that these theories direct researchers toward understanding how restrictions function in test space, how test takers exploit “cracks” in the power of test space, and how test space is hybrid, coexisting with other spaces.

Author

• Emery Marc Petchauer, Michigan State University