TY - JOUR
T1 - Rethinking “(Under) Performance” for Black English Speakers
T2 - Beyond Achievement to Opportunity
AU - Smith, Patriann
AU - Kumi-Yeboah, Alex
AU - Chang, Rong
AU - Lee, Jaehoon
AU - Frazier, Paul
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© The Author(s) 2019.
PY - 2019/9/1
Y1 - 2019/9/1
N2 - We draw on the concept of the opportunity gap explanatory framework in this study to problematize the notion of “(under)performance” of Black American (i.e., African American) and Black immigrant youth. Examining reading literacy achievement results of Black American and Black immigrant youth using a corpus of data from the 2012 Program for International Student Assessment (PISA), we demonstrate the ways in which these youth self-identified as language speakers on the PISA reading literacy assessment measure, the influence of this self-identification on interpretations of their reading literacy, and the influence of other demographic factors on this achievement across subgroups. We suggest that the disaggregation of data for Black subpopulations can allow for a better understanding of the ways in which demographic, social, and cultural factors impact achievement within specific Black subgroups. We also highlight the need for reframing examinations of Black students’ literacies in ways that are humanizing. Implications for research, practice, and policy are provided.
AB - We draw on the concept of the opportunity gap explanatory framework in this study to problematize the notion of “(under)performance” of Black American (i.e., African American) and Black immigrant youth. Examining reading literacy achievement results of Black American and Black immigrant youth using a corpus of data from the 2012 Program for International Student Assessment (PISA), we demonstrate the ways in which these youth self-identified as language speakers on the PISA reading literacy assessment measure, the influence of this self-identification on interpretations of their reading literacy, and the influence of other demographic factors on this achievement across subgroups. We suggest that the disaggregation of data for Black subpopulations can allow for a better understanding of the ways in which demographic, social, and cultural factors impact achievement within specific Black subgroups. We also highlight the need for reframing examinations of Black students’ literacies in ways that are humanizing. Implications for research, practice, and policy are provided.
KW - Black
KW - achievement
KW - assessment
KW - immigrant
KW - literacy
KW - race
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85067796747&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1177/0021934719851870
DO - 10.1177/0021934719851870
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85067796747
VL - 50
SP - 528
EP - 554
JO - Journal of Black Studies
JF - Journal of Black Studies
SN - 0021-9347
IS - 6
ER -