Culturally Responsive Assessment

Every learner is unique. Each views the world through their personal experiences. These viewpoints are shaped by the cultural lens of customs, beliefs, practices, and symbols. According to the National Center for Education Statistics, white students are no longer the majority and these demographic changes present new challenges and opportunities. Diversity is the new norm in the classroom.

In any classroom, assessment is a complex process that becomes more so when each student brings different background to the text or topic. George Spindler’s (1988) idea of “Making the strange familiar and the familiar strange” resonates in today’s schools where learning and assessment must be respectful, non-judgmental, and adaptive. Here are three strategies to make this work.

Flexible Content and Context: I came across this math problem in a set of standardized test questions: Workmen use ½ of a pallet of pavers to build 3 steps into the school. Each step was the same size. How many pallets did they use for each step? If Veronique is unable to distinguish between a pallet, a palette, and a palate, how can she solve this problem? To unlock understanding we must deconstruct the questions into comprehensible nuggets and feasible sequences.                                            

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