Constructing a New Vision of Assessments: Centering Emergent Bilinguals’ Linguistic Repertoires for Equity and Justice

• In Event: AERA Roundtable Session Saturday 3:45 pm - Gold 3
  In Roundtable Session: Towards a Justice-Oriented Bilingual Education

Abstract

This study examines how standardized assessments fail to reflect the academic abilities and linguistic identities of emergent bilingual (EB) students. Grounded in translanguaging theory (García & Wei, 2014), holistic biliteracy (Escamilla et al., 2014), and holistic bilingualism (Grosjean, 1989), this qualitative case study focuses on “Leo,” a Spanish-English bilingual sixth-grader in a Texas public school. Data from interviews, classroom observations, artifacts, and assessments demonstrate how Leo strategically leverages his full linguistic repertoire to convey knowledge. Findings show that bilingual-inclusive assessments more accurately reflect Leo’s critical thinking and cultural identity. This research contributes to AERA’s 2026 theme by positioning linguistically equitable assessments as essential to constructing a new vision for multilingual learners in U.S. education.

Author

• Angeles Munoz, University of North Texas / Texas Woman’s University