Cultural Bias in the Classroom: Assessments and Expectations Jeta Donovan October 17, 2011

Agenda Testing Statistics: Bias in Assessment (10 min.) Critiquing a NYS ELA Rubric (10 min.) Prompt 1 (20 min.) Expectations (5 min.) “Challenge the Assertion” (10 min.) Prompt 2 (20 min.) Linguistic Dimensions Overview (10 min.)

What is IQ testing? Problem of Observing intelligence “it can be known by its effects, yet its presence must be inferred” (Ford, 2004, p. 2) What IQ tests actually measure... a) only a sample of the test’s construct (i.e. a sample of mathematical reasoning), b) present performance, c) an estimate of performance on skills’ tested

So...what’s the problem? Students of color typically perform at a lower level on IQ tests African-American, Hispanic, and Native-American students are under-represented in gifted & talented programs and over- represented in special education

History and American Context (English, 2002) Alfred Binet’s original “IQ” test was a measure of school readiness, and he expressly warned against using IQ tests to rank student ability U.S. had a framework of IQ as something inherited and static (coincided with the eugenics movement) Goddard (U.S. psychologist that spearheaded IQ test in America) suggested that lowest performers should be steralized. Goddard performed a 2 1/2 month study of immigrants on Ellis Island and reported 83% of Jews, 80% of Hungarians, 79% of Italians, and 87% of Russians were “feeble-minded”--that is morons (English, p. 305)

What do the numbers say today? Statistical Bias Mean differences in score The following tests were evaluated with matched variables and found the following mean score differences between African- American and white students: WISC III-- 11.0; Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scale IV- -8.1, Woodcock Johnson Tests of Cognitive Ability--11.7 (Naglieri & Ford, 2003).

The Chitling Intelligence Test Dove, A. The "Chitling" Test The Chitling Intelligence Test Dove, A. The "Chitling" Test. From Lewis R. Aiken, Jr. (1971). Psychological and educational testings. Boston: Allyn and Bacon. A "handkerchief head" is:       (a) a cool cat, (b) a porter, (c) an Uncle Tom, (d) a hoddi, (e) a preacher. Which word is most out of place here?    (a) splib, (b) blood, (c) gray, (d) spook, (e) black. A "gas head" is a person who has a:    (a) fast-moving car, (b) stable of "lace," (c) "process," (d) habit of stealing cars, (e) long jail record for arson. "Bo Diddley" is a:    (a) game for children, (b) down-home cheap wine, (c) down-home singer, (d) new dance, (e) Moejoe call. "Hully Gully" came from:    (a) East Oakland, (b) Fillmore, (c) Watts, (d) Harlem, (e) Motor City. Cheap chitlings (not the kind you purchase at a frozen food counter) will taste rubbery unless they are cooked long enough. How soon can you quit cooking them to eat and enjoy them?    (a) 45 minutes, (b) 2 hours, (c) 24 hours, (d) 1 week (on a low flame), (e) 1 hour. What are the "Dixie Hummingbirds?"    (a) part of the KKK, (b) a swamp disease, (c) a modern gospel group, (d) a      Mississippi Negro paramilitary group, (e) Deacons. If you throw the dice and 7 is showing on the top, what is facing down?    (a) 7, (b) snake eyes, (c) boxcars, (d) little Joes, (e) 11. "Jet" is:    (a) an East Oakland motorcycle club, (b) one of the gangs in "West Side Story," (c) a news and gossip magazine, (d) a way of life for the very rich. T-Bone Walker got famous for playing what?    (a) trombone, (b) piano, (c) "T-flute," (d) guitar, (e) "hambone." "Bird" or "Yardbird" was the "jacket" that jazz lovers from coast to coast hung on:    (a) Lester Young, (b) Peggy Lee, (c) Benny Goodman, (d) Charlie Parker, (e) "Birdman of Alcatraz." Hattie Mae Johnson is on the County. She has four children and her husband is now in jail for non-support, as he was unemployed and was not able to give her any money. Her welfare check is now $286 per month. Last night she went out with the highest player in town. If she got pregnant, then nine months from now how much more will her welfare check be?    (a) $80, (b) $2, (c) $35, (d) $150, (e) $100. "Money don't get everything it's true ."    (a) but I don't have none and I'm so blue, (b) but what it don't get I can't use, (c) so make do with what you've got, (d) but I don't know that and neither do you. How much does a short dog cost?    (a) $0.15, (b) $2.00, (c) $0.35, (d) $0.05, (e) $0.86 plus tax. Many people say that "Juneteenth" (June 19) should be made a legal holiday because this was the day when:    (a) the slaves were freed in the USA, (b) the slaves were freed in Texas, (c) the slaves were freed in Jamaica, (d) the  slaves were freed in California, (e) Martin Luther King was born, (f) Booker T. Washington died. Go to Scoring Sheet

So what do we do about it? Advocate for our students Share information with students and parents, empower them to advocate for themselves Equitable and ethical assessments in our own classrooms?

Challenge the Assertion Partner A will choose one of the statements from the statement box Partner B responds with one of the questions from the question box. Partner A replies with a justification. When ideas run out, A and B switch roles.

Sample Conversation A: It’s a nice day today B: What’s your evidence for that? A: The sun is shining. B: How is that good? A: We need sunshine. B: Can you explain why? A: We become sad without sun. B: Give me another reason why we need sunshine. A: Plants need the sun. B: How is that important? A: Enough. Let’s swap.

Statements and Questions Statement Box: All Children have deficits. There’s no harm in honestly acknowledging their weaknesses and doing everything to help them. “The belief that educated people talk in complete, standard, syntactically integrated sentences is just wrong and ill-informed” Teachers should not be blamed for students’ lack of participation or motivation. Teachers should be blamed for students’ lack of participation or motivation. Teachers should never make their teaching “culturally relevant” but should teach all children the same. Teachers should always make their teaching “culturally relevant” and teach all children differently depending on their backgrounds. * Question Box: --why do you think so? --What’s your evidence for that? --What makes you say that? --Can you explain why? --Can you be more specific? --How is that good/bad? --How is that important? --Why does that matter? --Give me another reason why....

Linguistic Dimensions Study Phase 1: Community Selection Select a community that represents the student population within your school or within a school where you would like to teach. You may choose to select two or three focal students from your classes to serve as case studies for this community. Phase 2: Data Collection Collect data on the uses of literacy within the selected community. Examine linguistic practices (including how words sound and what they mean) and social practices. Potential sources of inquiry include:Photos, Writing, Other artifacts, Overheard conversations (perhaps recorded), Radio/TV/Media, Running records of your observations (what you hear and what you see), Student interviews (and other interviews), Library/Internet research Phase 3: Analysis and Findings *Categorize the local literacies *Examine the diversity and ways of meaning in the communityArticulate the home literacies of the studentsIdentify three to four key findings. You should document the finding and provide supporting evidence from the data you have collected. Phase 4: Turn to Teaching Consider the language and literacy practices of the community you have studied, and think about how this knowledge could influence your practice as a teacher of students from this community. What theories and strategies would support the academic success of the students? Reference course texts and other sources you consult as you make a plan for teaching members of this community. Use teacher-research skills to connect your work with the ideas of researchers and theorists we have studied.