Humanizing assessment: decolonizing, historicizing, and communing with language-minoritized communities

Abstract

ABSTRACT Drawing from humanizing pedagogies (Bartolome, 1994; del Carmen Salazar; Freire & Ramos, 1993) and humanizing research (Paris & Winn, 2013), in this article I propose an approach to humanizing assessment that begins with the position that inclusive and equitable educational opportunities and assessment practices that meet the needs of culturally and linguistically diverse learners from minoritized communities serve to improve the quality of education for all learners . Humanizing assessment works toward assessment approaches that are (1) decolonizing; (2) historicizing; and (3) communing to counteract decades and centuries of harmful testing consequences . This paper focuses on ways to move forward if or when assessment is necessary through participatory, community-building efforts.