Standardized Tests and Within‐Group Segregation: The Not‐So‐Optimal ESL Classroom for Long‐Term English Learners

Abstract

AbstractReclassification is a critical threshold when English Learners (ELs) exit specialized language services and access all‐English mainstream classrooms. Despite the mandates of the Every Student Succeeds Act, reclassification rates and time remain a pressing problem. A product of this malfunctioning system has been long‐term ELs (LTELs). This article focuses on the social consequences of language assessment and attends to the stories of three LTELs at a rural high school in the southeastern United States. It examines the impact of ability‐grouping through standardized tests on the social fabric of an English as a Second Language (ESL) classroom. Data come from semi‐structured personal interviews and observations in ESL and content‐area classes. The thematic narrative analysis points to a reclassification system that functions primarily based on test scores. State‐mandated tests silence LTELs by classifying them in the same category with newcomer ELs. This system targets the standardization of their identities by disregarding the diversity within the ELs in terms of instructional needs and social, linguistic, academic, and cultural resources. These tests pose an insuperable social conflict and tension between the LTELs and newcomer ELs. To this end, I claim that state‐mandated tests are hegemonic devices that might cause hierarchies in ESL classrooms and within‐group segregation of ELs. The social consequences of testing need to be investigated in‐depth to revamp the educational landscape for LTELs.