Chapter 19: ”How Are We Going to be Testing That?”: Challenges to Implementing Culturally Responsive Literacy Instruction

Numerous scholars have advocated for culturally responsive instruction as a means for raising the literacy achievement of students from historically marginalized populations (e.g., Au, 2008; Edwards, McMillon, & Turner, 2010; Lazar, Edwards, & McMillon, 2012; Lee, 2007; McIntyre, Hulan, & Layne, 2011; Powell & Rightmyer, 2011; Ruggiano Schmidt & Lazar, 2011; Spears-Bunton & Powell, 2009). Yet there is a paucity of research that supports the use of culturally responsive literacy instruction (CRLI) and that describes the struggles that teachers and administrators face in its implementation. We believe that one of the reasons for this dilemma is the lack of sufficient models and observational tools that would allow us to observe and document the various elements of CRLI with some precision. The Culturally Responsive Instruction Observation Protocol (CRIOP) was created to fill this gap.