A high-stakes reading test as the White listening subject: Applying an antiracist validation lens

• Published in: Critical inquiry in language studies Vol. 22; no. 1; pp. 8 - 42
• Main Author: Sinclair, Jeanne
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Mahwah Routledge 02.01.2025; Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc
• Subjects: Academic readiness; Administrative Policy; Children; Disadvantaged; Educational Change; English; English as a second language learning; English language; Evaluation; High Stakes Tests; Language Proficiency; Language shift; Language tests; Learning; Listening Comprehension Tests; Racism; Reading Readiness Tests; Reading tests; Scores; Students; Validity; White people; United States > US; Texas
• ISSN: 1542-7587; 1542-7595
• DOI: 10.1080/15427587.2024.2415618

In this paper, the White listening subject takes the form of a standardized high-stakes reading test, the State of Texas Assessment of Academic Readiness (STAAR). Although the test does not actually listen, it 'hears' and evaluates children's responses to its questions. I present the results of the 2017 Grade 8 reading exams, from the March, May, and June administrations, with a focus on results for students who are learning English as an additional language, who are racially minoritized, and who are economically disadvantaged. The analysis looks at factors predicting test completion, passing rates, and test resitting: language proficiency status, race/racism, and economic disadvantage. In the discussion, I question these results' validity by examining the STAAR validity arguments including the construct definition, development and scoring of the assessment, retake administration policies, and consequences for language minoritized and racialized students. I hope this study may spur changes in policy and practice, and the institution of a re-humanizing lens in assessment policies in Texas and beyond.