Minority Issues in Testing

Researchers have studied multiple areas involving the assessment of minority students’ learning and how schools’ assessment practices affect the education of these students. This entry looks at how minority students are affected by teachers’ choice of assessments to evaluate students’ progress and achievement, by the increasing importance of statewide standardized test results, and by the assessments used for participation in programs intended for gifted and high-achieving students.

Some aspects of student assessment are outside of teachers’ control. For example, the system they use for grading is typically determined by the school or school district. However, teachers still make many decisions about student assessment, such as how assignments are structured or the amount, length, and types of exams. It follows, then, that teachers’ individual differences in perspective ...