Social Consequences of Testing for Language-minoritized Bilinguals in the United States

Comprehensive investigation of the role of testing and assessment in the education of bilinguals in the US

This book provides a cohesive historical narrative of the testing of language-minoritized bilinguals in the United States that centers the test-takers’ experiences. It demonstrates how testing has contributed to the historic, systemic marginalization of language-minoritized bilinguals and encourages efforts to dismantle these inequities.

Jamie L. Schissel is Assistant Professor in the Department of Teacher Education and Higher Education at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, USA. Her research centers on testing and teaching in multilingual communities.

Jamie L. Schissel is Assistant Professor in the Department of Teacher Education and Higher Education at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, USA. Her research centers on testing and teaching in multilingual communities.

Schissel’s historical narrative provides a most original lens to uncover the immediate and long-term social consequences of how assessments have impacted the lives of language-minoritized bilinguals. In an innovative turn, Schissel brilliantly foregrounds the cumulative histories and experiences of language-minoritized bilinguals as test-takers, instead of the more conventional ones of test-developers.

We have needed this book for years. It provides a critical perspective that does not focus on tests, but rather their uses, effects and consequences. Language minoritized children and their families are subjected to more tests than other groups as they encounter tests used in K-12 and higher education, as well as tests for civic participation and even entry into the US. This comprehensive view of testing and its effects is a must-read, not only for psychometricians but for all who advocate for social justice in education.