Beyond Deficit Assessment in Bilingual Primary Schools

• In Event: Marriott Roundtable Session 21
  In Roundtable Session: Perspectives on and Practices for Dual-Language Education

Abstract

In this study we analyze the particular pressures that maintenance-oriented dual immersion bilingual primary schools face amid the policy landscape of high-stakes standardized tests in the United States. We argue that bilingual schools must be aware of the negative incentives that these tests present and act to mitigate potential harm to their school missions. The alternative anti-deficit qualitative approaches to assessment we describe rely on students presenting their knowledge in ways that allow them to show their strengths and are more likely to motivate students to accomplish ambitious, albeit differentiated, goals. These assessments carry a tone of encouragement and cultural affirmation, and recognize the positive academic identity development of emergent bilingual children.

Authors

• Matthew Knoester, Ripon College

• Assaf Meshulam, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev