Chapter 8: Isolating Language Factors Contributing to State-Mandated Reading and Writing Achievement Test Scores of African American Students

Prominent among current educational initiatives is the importance of preparing students to meet curriculum standards and perform well on mandated achievement tests (U.S. Department of Education [DOE], 2002). The effort to establish summative tests of academic performance may serve as a mechanism for assessing pupil progress and determining a student’s standing relative to other students (U.S. DOE, 2002). While educational achievement tests purport to measure how well a pupil has acquired concepts and skills taught at school, achievement may be difficult to fully describe on the basis of scores obtained on summative educational testing (Airasian, 1988; Barkley, 2001; Etsey, 1997). Student test performance is not simply the aftermath of exposure to curriculum (Glaser, 1994; Jones, 1997; Winfield, 1990). Concomitant issues may be borne out in test performance. Educational funding inequities have been found to be related to inferior test performance. Test scores were found to be lower in districts and schools that lacked resources (American Educational Research Association [AERA], 2000; Bobbett, 1993; Gallagher, 1993; Ladson-Billings, 1994; Linn, 1994; Manning, Lucking, & MacDonald, 1995; Morris, 2000; National Assessment of Educational Progress [NAEP], 1998, 1999a, 1999b, 2000; National Educational Research Policy and Priorities Board, 1999; Schellenberg, 1998; Sheridan, 2000; Webb, 1995; Winfield, 1990). Tests reveal learning that students have acquired through classroom instruction but also learning that has occurred out of school; this may reflect the socioeconomic status of families and/or communities (Bobbitt, 1993; Denoyer & White, 1992; Gallagher, 1993; Lanese, 1992; McGee, 1997; Meisels, 1989; Popham, 1999; Raivetz, 1992). The adequacy of the schooling students have received and greater or lesser school resources are not taken into account when tests are scored (National Education Association [NEA], 2001). Tests reveal a widening gap between high- and low-income schools, especially on questions that require an extended verbal response (NAEP, 1998, 1999a, 1999b; National Educational Research Policy and Priorities Board, 1999).