Critical Language Testing: Factors Influencing Students' Decisions to (Not) Pursue the Seal of Biliteracy

In this investigation, Kristin J. Davin analyzes current and former emergent bilingual learners' decisions to take or not take a language proficiency assessment in a home language to pursue a Seal of Biliteracy (SoBL). The SoBL is a policy adopted in forty states to counteract English-only ideo...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Harvard educational review 2021-07, Vol.91 (2), p.179-203
Main Author: Davin, Kristin J
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Achievement tests
Bilingual education
Bilingual Students
Bilingualism
Certification
Cognitive Development
College students
Decision Making
Decisions
Dialects
Education policy
Educational Policy
English language
Family Influence
High School Graduates
Ideology
Language
Language Maintenance
Language Proficiency
Language Tests
Learning
Learning Processes
Power
Public schools
Second Language Learning
Secondary schools
Self Esteem
Standardized Tests
Student Attitudes
Students
Teaching Methods
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Summary:In this investigation, Kristin J. Davin analyzes current and former emergent bilingual learners' decisions to take or not take a language proficiency assessment in a home language to pursue a Seal of Biliteracy (SoBL). The SoBL is a policy adopted in forty states to counteract English-only ideologies by recognizing students who graduate high school bilingual and biliterate. Considering the power of assessments and the complexity of the decision to take a test of proficiency in one's home language, this study uses the history-in-person framework to understand the factors that shape students' decisions to take, or not take, the "seals test." Davin's findings point toward considerations and changes necessary to SoBL implementation to ensure that the policy meets the needs of the emergent bilingual learners it was intended to benefit.
ISSN:0017-8055
1943-5045
DOI:10.17763/1943-5045-91.2.179