Exploring the racial achievement gap on US history written-response state assessment items
Social Studies Research and Practice
ISSN: 1933-5415
Article publication date: 29 September 2020
Issue publication date: 18 November 2020
Abstract
Purpose
Many states are restructuring their US history state assessments to include written-response assessment items that evaluate students' literacy skills in high-stakes environments. The purpose of this study was to investigate how the addition of an extended-response item to a US history state assessment was associated with an increase in the racial achievement gap.
Design/methodology/approach
The theoretical framework included linguistic complexity of standardized assessment items and academic language demand and utilized a difference-in-difference research design.
Findings
The findings indicate that the achievement gap between students of color and White students increased when an extended-response assessment item was added to an exclusively multiple-choice item exam and that this increase in the achievement gap may be contributed to a literacy gap.
Research limitations/implications
The continued investigation of how students of color perform on different types of extended-response standardized assessment items. And, the continued investigation of evidenced-based instructional practices that focus on developing students' literacy skills in US history as well as culturally responsive instructional practices.
Practical implications
The knowledge and implementation of literacy instruction and culturally responsive instruction in US history classrooms as well as in preservice teacher education programs and in-service professional development programs.
Originality/value
The current study is one of the first large-scale investigations into the racial achievement gap on US history written-response standardized assessment items and in identifying a literacy gap between students of color and White students on US history written-response state assessment items.
Keywords
Citation
Miller, J.M. (2020), "Exploring the racial achievement gap on US history written-response state assessment items", Social Studies Research and Practice, Vol. 15 No. 3, pp. 291-310. https://doi.org/10.1108/SSRP-04-2020-0015
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2020, Emerald Publishing Limited