Abstract
This article reports on a 3-year ethnographic study in a Boston Public school of the performance of Haitian students on the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System (MCAS) and its lasting and likely impact upon them. MCAS is a mandated exam required for students to graduate from high school. Although there are certain provisions for students with limited English proficiency (LEP) to participate under the mandate, LEP students face the test with an enormous disadvantage compared with other students. The issue of second language acquisition appears to have been completely dismissed in the mandated policy. In light of the challenges faced by students with LEP, the article focuses on the core issues at hand in the Massachusetts standardized exam. It analyzes the complexities of language use and acquisition with respect to students with LEP, the pitfalls of the mandated exam, and the effects and impacts created by MCAS on students and their communities. It suggests that an educational system should take into consideration the complexity of acquiring a second language in a particular social context and develop new testing policies and requirements for students whose first language is not English.
Keywords
Introduction
The introduction of the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System (MCAS) in Massachusetts in the 1990s was not a new phenomenon. Rather, it was part of a larger national accountability movement (Lipman, 2004) to strengthen the American educational system. The main approach of this effort to reform schools through testing was to set the bar at the highest level, so that students would be motivated to improve their educational performance. However, since the introduction of this test in the state, the performance of students on the test has lagged, especially for certain immigrant and ethnic minority groups. In the Boston public school system, many immigrant students have struggled with the test and have performed poorly in English, mathematics, and social studies (Johnson & Johnson, 2006; Leistyna, 2002; Uriarte, Lavan, Agusta, Kala, & Faye, 2009).
Johnson and Johnson (2006) note that despite its entrenchment, there is growing opposition to the accountability movement, especially to high-stakes testing. Several studies indicate that the schools most affected by these educational policies have been those located in impoverished cities in America where immigrant students reside. For example, Berger, Smith, and Coelen (2004) note that “greater metropolitan Boston has a particular problematic history in terms of the extent to which racial segregation has deeply divided the city into separate and unequal bastions of inequity” (p. 2). In a similar study conducted by Northeastern University (2010), it was also noted that “public schools in the Boston and Springfield metropolitan areas are among the most segregated in the country, often isolating immigrant students in low-performing schools” (p. 1). This level of inequity embedded in a segregated public school system leaves administrators and teachers in those schools sorely lacking in resources to meet the challenges of the MCAS and the SAT in preparing students for postsecondary education, especially students with limited English proficiency (LEP). An assessment of, and intervention into, MCAS outcomes is important in the long term because an unfair and unjust selection process can affect access to education and potentially lead to inequity (Mbayo, 2011; Stone, 2002; Verstegen & Whitney, 1997).
From the very onset of the MCAS test, opponents had identified a number of key factors for success and potential issues. Leistyna (2002) argues that if the MCAS test were such an important part of the drive to improve academic achievement among students, then students should receive intensive instruction in an MCAS-aligned curriculum that satisfied the need for students to know about the content of the test and how the test is generated and administered. What was recommended was an interdisciplinary approach in which mathematics, English, social studies, and history would be taught and analyzed in the context of preparing for the test (Leistyna, 2002). Hillocks (2002) argues that the real question regarding any test is whether it succeeds as a tool for suggesting paths toward improvement in the areas it assesses, for example: Can a test of reading suggest how a student can learn to read and use materials in different discourse communities? Can a test of writing suggest how a student might learn to write succinctly and clearly enough in a particular context? In short, can tests pave the way for solid academic achievement? Furthermore, can a test determine a clear common denominator in determining how effectively schools are educating their students? Yet, without regard to these questions, the states promoting the high stakes of standardized tests claim that such tests are the only way forward to improve the education system.
Between 2009 and 2011, I undertook an ethnographic study where I spent 3 years at “Duncan High School” (pseudonym), a high school in the Boston area with a large fraction of Haitian students, to assess and understand the politics of inequity surrounding the MCAS and high-stakes testing accountability. My interest and participation in this study come from an emic perspective (Watson-Gegeo, 1988). Born and raised in Haiti, I taught in Boston Public Schools for a couple of years. As a Haitian and a former teacher, I had witnessed firsthand how some students struggled to pass the mandated exam. This article is part of my interest in contributing to the debate over high-stakes testing accountability in the United States. My observations reflect the immense challenges that Haitian immigrants face in this country, which is borne out by statistical data and related studies. The Haitian community is one among the many minority communities that has been seriously underserved in Massachusetts. Most Haitian youth trail other populations in terms of economic empowerment and educational attainment.
According to a “Haitian Immigrants in Boston” report (Boston Redevelopment Authority, 2009), Haitians in 2009 made up the second largest segment of immigrants in Boston (8.5%), following Chinese immigrants (8.6%) and in front of immigrants from the Dominican Republic (7.9%). The report estimated that 14,361 Haitian-born immigrants living wage in the city of Boston were at the lowest economic social stratum, and that only 35% of Haitians in Boston had finished high school, a number twice that of the native-born (16%) population. For all Haitians who have attended school in the city of Boston, just more than 25% had been granted a high school diploma with no post-secondary education. Although 28% of Haitian immigrants had attended college, only less half of that percentage that had earned finished a bachelor’s degree, “compared with 27% of the entire foreign-born population and 40% of the native-born” (Boston Redevelopment Authority, 2009, p. 1). Only 3% of Haitians living in Boston held a professional training degree or higher, in comparison to 12% of all foreign-born. The percentage is far greater for the native-born population which is 17%.
Language issues clearly present challenges and barriers for these students in the school system. The Haitian language is among the top 10 spoken languages among LEP students nationwide (Figure 1).
In 2008, only 7.5% of Haitian immigrants aged 5 and older reported speaking “English only.” While 39.0% reported speaking English “very well,” about 53.6% reported speaking English less than “very well,” comparable with the 52.1% along with all foreign-born populations (Terrazas, 2010). Combined lower socioeconomic status and language-related issues have Haitian students mired in a perennial social condition of underachievement.
Lack of opportunity for Haitian students in Massachusetts exists in a broader context in which concerned school systems struggle without success to meet needs exacerbated and illuminated by consequences of the crises in Haiti. Dumcius (2011) wrote that the Boston Public School system was very concerned with the inflow of Haitian students to the school system after the 7.0 earthquake in Haiti in January 2010. Although the school system was able to create space for most of those students, school officials were worried about the state and federal government funds to assist them. These students barely knew the culture of the United States, and their English proficiency was very limited. They left Haiti, a country where schools often stop for political and economic reasons or other unforeseen natural disasters such as the massive earthquake that crushed the country.
Overall, the students face colossal challenges due in part to such contextual factors, due to their LEP and, as we shall argue, an issue in which lack of language skills affects abilities to learn mathematics. To address such concerns, this study was undertaken to investigate the following research questions:
Literature Review
The conceptual framework of the study focuses on educational equity, specifically on equity of access for minorities in the Unites States (Darling-Hammond, 2010; McNeil, 2009; Nieto, 2004; Stone, 2002). Equity is a complex concept and may represent different things to diverse individuals or groups. In education, equity may be perceived in terms of equality of opportunity, which depends upon the enforcement of policies that promise fair treatment and equal access to resources and programs for all individuals. Equity may also relate to the definitional boundaries of the item that is being distributed, or it may be noticeable in terms of fair and transparent processes. While we may be interested in several concepts of educational equity (Stone, 2002), this study focuses on equality of access in relation to the MCAS and its impact on learning outcomes across racial and ethnic lines. Outcomes are significant in the long term because inequitable and an unjust assortment process can affect access to present and future education, and potentially lead to more lasting social inequities. The idea of equity includes not only the ultimate outcome of education but also the sense of justice by which the outcome occurred (Mbayo, 2011; Verstegen & Whitney, 1997). Implicitly, unequal access to educational opportunity not only minimizes an individual’s chances for social mobility in society, but it also has a deep effect on people’s quest for equity and social justice. In this particular case, equity of assortment and admittance involves the arrangement, content, training, and administration of the MCAS, and the impact of this mandatory standardized test on learning outcomes across racial and ethnic lines. As McNeil (2009) contend, Effects of standardization are even more damaging: over the long term; standardization creates inequities, widening the gap between the quality of education for poor and minority youth and that of more privileged students. The discriminatory effects of standardization are immediately evident in the reduction in both the quality and quantity of educational content for students; who have historically scored, low on standardized assessments. Over time, the longer standardized controls are in place, the wider the gap becomes as the system of testing and test preparation substitutes in minority schools for the broader and richer curriculum available to more privileged students who already enjoy English proficiency. (p. 384)
In the same vein, Darling-Hammond (2010) maintains that an equitable educational system needs to make sure that well-trained educators have resources at their disposal. They must have fundamental tools to help ensure the building of student capacities and classroom infrastructures that support in-depth learning and critical thinking.
In the case of LEP students, educational reforms demanding proper education and assessment of these students are complicated by many issues, including consideration of student socioeconomic status, cultural backgrounds, and linguistic capabilities (Darling-Hammond, 2010). Whereas accountability for meeting the educational needs of these students is undoubtedly a reasonable expectation, the means by which to undertake it must account for the particular needs of this dynamic group of students. Black (2006) notes that when “educators, policy makers, and community members struggle to promote equitable outcomes for ELLs, they enter a complex web of contradictory language minority and accountability policies, within which assimilationist notions and ideologies may resurface in the name of equal opportunity” (p. 217). Nieto (2004) reminds readers that a concern for equity is a common motive cited for high-stakes testing, that is, for connecting test scores with school goals for educating students. Although equity is undoubtedly a major common concern, Nieto points to evidence that standardized testing has not significantly improved learning. In fact, she found that tests may have had numerous negative effects on students. A testing legislation report on equity and diversity found that, instead of successful learning outcomes under a regime of standardized testing, such legislation has intellectually crushed minority student hope and possibilities. Black (2006) notes the confession of a district director in the Texas Public schools System who admitted during a meeting that “LEPS are truly left behind,” mimicking the language of the “No Child Left Behind Act” (NCLB) legislation (p. 203). Likewise, the impact of NCLB and its potential long-term consequences on students can be felt everywhere in the United States.
The MCAS mandate as a high-stakes test is not neutral or innocent, and so should not be understood in a vacuum. Inequity is re-enforced when standardized testing affects other practices in LEP student learning and ultimately impedes them from experiencing any fairness in their efforts to fulfill their potential goals (Freire, 1970). For example, standardized testing may have a serious adverse impact on curriculum instruction in classroom teaching (Nieto, 2004; Stone, 2002). Darling-Hammond (2010) notes that the test-driven approach has narrowed the curriculum and disengaged students from higher-order skills that are wanted in today’s world. Viewed in terms of our particular social, historical, and political context, a time at which the global market is expanding rapidly, the negative impact of such testing on LEP, among other, students appears even more inexcusable. In addition, assuming that MCAS policy is justified merely in response to “school failure” is naïve at best, and disingenuous at worst, because it fails to take into account real social and educational issues that students face in their daily lives. School failure is too complex to prescribe, in the name of reform, a single test as an alternative medicine to cure a broad spectrum of social ills reflected in education.
The plight in which LEP students find themselves was illustrated in a study conducted by the Civil Rights Project (Heller, 2006) at Harvard University having to do with the Abigail and John Adams Scholarship. The scholarship was created in 2006 by former Governor Mitt Romney to grant high school students scholarships based on their performance in MCAS. The study analyzed data from the Massachusetts Department of Education and found large gaps in qualification rates. The lower performance on the MCAS tests by racial minority, special education, second language, and poorer students gave them little chance of qualifying for the scholarships. According to the Harvard study, since the program was enacted in 2002, fewer than 5% of disabled or LEP students, who disproportionally qualify for the federal free or reduced-price lunch program, have been granted Adams Scholarships due to their lower MCAS scores, despite the fact that the number of students who had received the scholarship rose from 20.5% in 2002 to 26.7% in 2005: The proportion of students eligible for the federal free or reduced price lunch program who would qualify for an Adams Scholarship increased from 6.5% in 2002 to 10.5% in 2005, an increase of four percentage points during this period. However, the proportion of students qualifying for an Adams Scholarship who were not eligible for the school lunch program increased by 6.2 percentage points during these years, from 19.7% to 25.9%. (p. 3)
Overall, LEP students must confront a context and culture of rejection and alienation by various institutions, and in schooling in particular. According to Nieto (1996), given that education has traditionally presumed a role as an assimilating agent for social integration, adapting education to consider the needs and potential isolation and rejection of immigrants and racial/ethnic groups has too often been simply left at schoolhouse doors (Nieto, 1996; Rong & Preissle, 1998). In terms of school curriculum and pedagogy, high-stakes tests have unintentionally contributed to this isolation and rejection in the schoolhouse, and the prevention of minority students from accomplishing their goals. Although the life experiences and history of students should have been the foundation to move forward, these experiences have been forgotten because of what could be described as an alien and imposed reality (Nieto, 1996, 2004). As Valenzuela (2000) upholds, “Operating under the guise of technical rationality, high-stakes testing is thus party to a larger logic that fosters alienation toward schooling through a systematic negation of these students” (p. 524).
The context in which LEP students find themselves also, unfortunately, includes the fact that many current educational policies and practices still treat LEPs as a monolithic group (Fairbairn & Fox, 2009). Likewise, Zehler (1994) points out that those LEP students face important individual issues that sometimes require different interventions to meet the school system’s expectations. Students arrive at school with different aptitudes and abilities in subject areas and skills, and this is no different for LEP students. In this case, LEP students are learning English and have more difficulty expressing their level of understanding and capabilities in this target language. Thus, it can be very difficult for LEP students to do well on the mandated exam, especially when the availability of adequate English as a Second Language (ESL) classes is limited. Walsh (1999) underscores the importance of well-structured ESL classes in serving Haitian immigrant students due to their frequently limited formal schooling from Haiti. It is important to build essential skills that are needed to prepare for the MCAS and beyond. She concludes that “the urgency of addressing the needs of English language learners with limited formal schooling is crucial at the higher grade levels, where the cognitive demands of instruction particularly necessitate both literacy and basic subject knowledge” (pp. 6-7).
The literature also shows that another inequity is based on the fact that the MCAS mandate does not account for the length of time students reasonably should have to understand English enough to be ready for the test. Students who have been in the country much longer often do better (Decapua & Marshall, 2010). According to the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (2012), “ELL students must participate in all MCAS tests scheduled for their grades regardless of the program and services they are receiving or the amount of time they have been in the United States” (p. 8). The Department specifies that students who have been in the United States for less than 1 year are exempt from the policy requirement. Yet, many studies show that students who have been in the United States for more than 1 year still have not been able to pass the exam.
By failing to differentiate learners by levels of English proficiency, and again by number of years living in the country, the Massachusetts Department of Education policy requirement to meet the federally mandated policy of NCLB is falling well short of achieving their outcome goals (Fairbairn & Fox, 2009). In such a learning environment, it is very difficult to ensure successful outcomes, educational equity, and for that matter, democracy. According to many educational policy advisers (Wheelock, 2007), holding students accountable for high-stakes tests does not uphold the standards of a democratic education. As I will describe, such failure is demonstrated in the data collected on the performance of Duncan High School between 2009 and 2011.
Method
To adequately answer the main research questions, research into secondary sources was accompanied by an ethnographic approach to study the experience of Haitian youth in the Boston Public School system. Ethnographic studies attempt to ascertain the culture of a specific group in a particular place at a specific point in time (Morse & Richards, 2002; Rossman & Rallis, 2003). Ethnography is a qualitative approach to social research that includes a process of “breathing in” and critically understanding a culture as a set of meanings that occur as a complex and interrelated whole (Kiely, 2006; Watson-Gegeo, 1988). This approach is well suited for investigating the challenges and barriers that assimilationist assumption in education reform places before Haitian students in the Boston Public schools. As human beings, we are fully capable to survive different cultures (Macionis, 2012), but the challenge is that it’s not easy to cope with all aspects of a new culture in a short period of time as in the case of high stakes testing accountability. However, Haitian students must deal with the demands of high-stakes testing accountability as it is required by the state. Ethnography’s ability to create a complex and critical view of culture and cultural contact becomes very useful for this study of student attempts to function linguistically in a new culture (Kiely, 2006).
Ethnography as a research genre provided me with the opportunity from an emic point of view to hear the perspectives of Haitian youth in their own voices and to comprehend their educational experiences in Boston Public Schools by seeing their interactions within the school environment (Watson-Gegeo, 1988). The ethnographic approach was also critical to detect the nuances and ambiguities of this inquiry at this particular high school. Thus, central to all of the phenomena that were investigated, the research study relied on description and interpretation as various themes started to emerge during interviews and observations of how Haitian students adapted in the school system.
Data Collection and Analysis
Primary data were collected from 13 Haitian students, one teacher, and an assistant principal between 2009 and 2011 through a series of intensive interviews to determine student attitudes toward, and readiness for, taking the state-mandated MCAS examination. I observed three different classes for a period of two consecutive semesters. Two of the classes were 10th-grade classes, and the third was a 12th-grade class. Two classes were English and the other was math. Only students were interviewed, not teachers. All the interviews were held at the library of Duncan High School (see the appendix). Additional data were collected from the school’s assistant principal through in-depth interviews. The students were identified as students with LEP. They were admitted into the Boston Public School system through interviews based on a curriculum designed by teachers with a second language pedagogical background. These students entered the school system over the previous 2 years (2008-2010), most of them living in the Haitian community in Boston, either with parents or with relatives. Table 1 provides profiles for the interviewed students.
Student’s Profiles (Pseudonyms).
Note. ESL = English as a Second Language.
Findings
Challenges From Neglect Amid Positive Views Toward Administration
Many of these students expressed admiration for their teachers and their school in general. However, it is important to remember that students were located in a system in which they faced an “alien and imposed reality,” and thus might have taken caution to hide their true opinions on certain issues.
Among the many barriers students confronted were academic expectations from the school’s administrators. Although the faculty and administrators in the school had certain high academic expectations for students, there were not enough resources to help pupils succeed. The school that these students are currently attending is located in a poor section of Boston and is often neglected and underfunded compared with other high schools in the district (Uriarte et al., 2009). This issue alone makes it difficult for students to navigate the obstacles that confront them, as academic support is lacking from virtually every angle. Consequently, some of those obstacles become barriers and can be seen as hindrances to academic success, not only because students have LEP but also due to their previous educational experiences in Haiti.
The research on the question of barriers uncovered some of the students’ uncertainties. I address these uncertainties on two levels. I listened carefully as many of them make the point that it was very important for them to graduate from high school. They maintained that they needed their diploma, so that they could go to college. At the same time, they were worried that it might not happen if they did not pass the MCAS. Worry existed even as students acknowledged how much help they got from teachers and how they were being drilled to pass the MCAS. Some students even said that they did not understand their ESL teachers. It was difficult to complete their homework, let alone to study to pass the MCAS.
This study found that Haitian youth are motivated to realize their academic potential, and that their parents have demonstrated positive attitudes toward the school, yet specific factors ranging from limited English, limited mathematical skills, and cultural discontinuity have prevented them from reaching their goals.
Linguistic Issues Affecting English and Mathematics Performance
It is clear from almost every interview I had with students that English proficiency was the main problem with the MCAS test for these students. For example, Gina, who was in 12th grade and seemed to be doing well in school, stated that the test disadvantages students who have just arrived from Haiti. She maintained that the vocabulary used in the MCAS can be particularly confusing for students. Many other students who have been in the country expressed this view; they point out that taking a test in a foreign language can definitely be a challenge.
Part of the problem is that the ESL program at Duncan High School has very limited resources available. In the past, many schools had bilingual programs in which students could spend time in a class with a bilingual teacher teaching in both languages in content areas before moving into the so-called mainstream classrooms. Now, many teachers are not bilingual, which means often students struggle to find meaning and understand contexts. While many teachers have the desire to help those students to succeed, teachers are limited in what they can do.
Another issue is related to Cummins’s (2005) assessment that any attempt to design mathematics curricula for LEP students should take into account linguistic demands to meet the learning needs of students. It is a challenge for new LEP students to cope within a community of discourses that are absolutely unfamiliar to them. The process should define what academic linguistic resources are needed for students to ensure adequate proficiency in the English language in speaking and writing, and he suggests that they should be taught in a language that is spoken in everyday life situations while English skills continue to develop, at least to start. Thus, to teach and build understanding of mathematical terminology, the academic language of classroom instruction should be modified to employ a reduced amount of unfamiliar sophisticated nominal vocabularies. The complex theoretical concepts of mathematics represented in terms such as polygon, sides, vertices, corners, open, closed, straight, and curved, as well as the dialectal arrangements that are associated with those vocabularies, are often opaque to LEP students due to difficulties in translation and lack of parallelism in lexicon and ideas across languages (Cummins, 2005; Slavit & Ernst-Slavit, 2007). The argument extends to textbook discourse. Cummins (2005) indicates that many publishers of math textbooks frequently place specialized vocabulary for specific lessons or particular textbook chapters in footnotes; however, often no sequence of courses is provided to teacher or students showing how to properly use and practice new mathematical lexicon. This practice suggests that publishing companies do not have LEP students in mind when textbooks are being produced.
For many students, the challenge cannot be stated as a simple English language barrier, but as problems with literacy in their everyday language. Primary data analysis revealed that students have difficulties using the same language that they use every day when it comes to solving math problems. They have not yet reached what Cummins calls the Cognitive Academic Language Proficiency (CALP; as cited in Freeman & Freeman, 2009). Although their everyday language is a form of verbal communication mainly used out of class—during breaks, in the school hallways, and indeed, in the school yards—it is a necessary resource in the math teaching classroom. LEPs learn social language more or less in 2 years. I found it is a daunting challenge to apprehend or to negotiate meanings with mathematics discourses. For example, in the term graphic inequalities, the word inequality has other meanings in different contexts. Students also need to comprehend expressions, such as radical equation, linear inequality, value inequality, and dashed boundary words. It could be argued that even though English learners are taught a particular term, such as polygon, it does not mean that they can draw a conclusion either orally or in writing in a particular homework assignment (Cummins, 2005; Slavit & Ernst-Slavit, 2007) or standardized test. With regard to the MCAS, students who have been in the system for only 1 or 2 years and who have not been immersed in the target language would find it exceedingly difficult to pass a standardized test using sophisticated mathematical lexicons under these circumstances (Cummins, 2005; Slavit & Ernst-Slavit, 2007).
Discussion
The discussion which follows details the issues of LEP Haitian student performance, factors affecting performance, student readiness, student and parental concerns regarding the MCAS, LEP, and the relation between LEP and proficiency in mathematics. These factors further exacerbate the changes of LEP Haitian students, given that the high school where they currently enroll is one of the schools that has lowest score on Language of Arts in Boston district-wide.
Figure 2 shows district-wide performance of all 10th graders in the English Language Arts (ELA) portion of the MCAS in 2011:
MCAS Score, 10th Grade English Language Arts (2011) (Massachusetts Department of Education, 2011)
These figures from Massachusetts Department of Education are an indication that some high schools in the greater Boston area have barely reached proficiency, let alone advanced-level skills under MCAS or NCLB. Duncan High School in particular is among the lowest performing schools in the MCAS in 2011 according to Massachusetts Department of Education, as shown in Figure 3.
Duncan High School (Massachusetts Department of Education, 2011)
From Figure 3, the high school under study has obviously not done well, both compared with other schools in the Boston district and especially relative to the state as a whole. As mainstream students show difficulties in doing well in the state-mandated exam, we next consider the situation for LEP students.
Likewise, the following summarizes the performance of LEP students in the ELA component of the MCAS of Haitian Students at Duncan High School from 2005 to 2009 (Figure 4, 5 and 6):
Performance of Duncan High School Haitian Students (MCAS Results-LEP 2005-2009).
Performance of Haitian students in mathematics for LEP (MCAS results-LEP. 2005-2009, Duncan High School).
Performance of Duncan High School Haitian students (MCAS results-LEP 2005-2009).
Less than 5% of Haitian students who took the MCAS between 2005 and 2009 at Duncan High School performed at the advanced and proficient levels. The proportion of students who were categorized as Needs Improvement in their test scores did rise consistently from 2% in 2005 to about 6% in 2007 and about 17% in 2009. More students failed in 2005, about 26% compared with an estimated 8% in 2009.
In mathematics for LEP and non-LEP, the performance trend is very similar to, if not worse than, what existed for ELA during these years (Figure 5).
According to the data, the percentage of LEP Haitian students performing at both the advanced and proficient levels in math remained below 5% between 2005 and 2006. In 2005, the percentage was 1%, and then rose to 4% in 2006 before falling to less than 3% in 2009 at the advanced level. For comparison, Figure 6 shows performance in math for non-LEP students.
Factors Affecting Performance
Many teachers argue based on their experiences that standardized tests fundamentally are not effective in preventing students from falling behind. They also do not help teachers to become better as teachers or to measure their professionalism in improving students’ performance. Teachers at Duncan High School view the test as a barrier that prevents them from teaching critical thinking skills such as content analysis that are so important for students. Many think that the MCAS high-stakes test has reduced students’ learning experiences and thus their opportunities to be better students. It has further minimized any opportunity to become a more literate and better citizen. They generally agreed with Engel (2007) who argues, The emphasis on “high test scores” negates the intrinsic value of learning and trivializes the educational process. We must expect a great deal more from our children than correct answers on a multiple choice test; our country must provide a challenging, meaningful and personalized educational experience that engenders a sense of purpose and responsibility in our future citizens. (para.1)
Many scholars and researchers have noted that a standardized test is somewhat intellectually simplistic and naïve, and that data and field studies thus far have demonstrated that test scores are not good educational measures of students’ ability and potential. These tests are inadequate and inaccurate as mirrors for school improvement, and these tests in effect deny equity of access to the disadvantaged groups in American society (Wheelock, 2007).
At Duncan, Haitian students are confronted with challenges in taking these tests that are perhaps very specific to the group, yet are not adequately addressed. The school’s assistant principal identified several challenges with Haitian students as follows: In particular for Haitian students, I think the students I’m receiving in this school right now come with challenges from the country, and that has a lot to do with the fact that the country is in serious turmoil and continues to be. I also think that the quality of the schools in Haiti is not the same, and we can tell the difference very often between the students who came from the reputable institutions in Haiti and the ones that came from the different public schools quote unquote [unrecognizable]. So these students really come lacking a lot in languages, lacking a lot in mathematics, and the problem is that a lot of times the student knows their primary language very well and it’s easier for them to transition to another language because they understand the structure of another language very well. But if the student is coming from Haiti having a lot of issues in their native language already, then it makes it even harder for them to learn a second language, and if they come with little background in Mathematics they’re starting behind. So now not only do they have a language problem, but they also come with a Math literacy problem so it compounds itself.
This level of performance in the MCAS for Haitian students has been a cause for concern for both the school’s administration and parents. In his reflection on the low performance of Haitian students, the assistant principal of the Academy attributes issues with performance as rooted in lack of proper schooling and fundamental language and math literacy in Haiti, and expressed a lack of capacity to address them: But this is something that really is beyond our capacity. We can offer them all the support that we have; I have books which I give the kids all the time to practice at home on top of the things we offer here. But their concern is primarily, “Hey, I’m going to get ready within those two years that I am here, you know, to take an English exam and sometimes we may take it the first year.” But they can take it over and over again until they pass it by the time they graduate as a senior, but still they know a lot of times that they are going to fail and this is not even just a district mandate, it’s a state mandate; it’s not something we can control. The state says to us every year that the students here have to take the Mathematics; the English they have to take doesn’t count but their second year it does count. So we expose them to it as best as possible. Students who are really illiterate students, I am not letting them take this test because they are not ready because they come from Haiti with such deficiencies and in some cases they are not even at the high school level but yet we still have to take them and teach them.
Notwithstanding these concerns, teachers at the Duncan High School have attempted to meet the demands of the MCAS by adopting various strategies in support of low-achieving students, such as Haitians. One of the things the school has done is to provide more classes in mathematics, which the assistant principal propounded on as follows: So, for instance, this year a student taking algebra; instead of just algebra they also have a class called Math literacy class. That class is designed to address some of the skills that the student was missing while in Haiti. The other thing, a student who’s in the Second Language 1 class here is taking three classes in English. These students are taking not only a class in English to focus on writing skills; they also focus on their oral competency, and reading. So then they have three different classes. Moreover, the school was offering an after-school program on Tuesdays and Thursdays as a review session to prepare students to help them to get ready for the MCAS examination. The school had recently focused on the people in the ELA department and the ESLA department. Both departments are willing to offer some Saturday classes to help prepare students for the MCAS. Also, in past years the school made mistakes in placing students in grades based on their age, but began to address this problem. Students were not placed in the 10th grade and forced to take the MCAS when they did not have the 10th grade background. Students from Haiti were then required to bring all relevant documents and records from Haiti to ensure that they are placed appropriately.
Yet despite such issues, a host of issues, described below, combine to make it virtually impossible to overcome the fundamental flaws that standardized tests present at the school.
Student Readiness and the MCAS
Many LEP students are placed at grade levels in which they do not belong. Jasper et al. (2005) note that when ELLs start school in the United States, they are frequently placed at a grade level fitting to their age, not in agreement with their academic background. Many start primary schools very late, perhaps at the age of 7 or 8 back in Haiti, and the U.S. school system rarely has that information. Many students left Haiti with no school records to prove to the school system in what grades they belong. If the knowledge necessary to be effective at grade level is not adequate, the outcome can be infuriating and very damaging to students. A 14-year-old might be placed in eighth grade, even though his or her mathematics ability is at the seventh-grade level and their English reading abilities are at the fifth-grade level. The school system’s access to student-specific prior circumstances is critical to success, not only in high school but in college as well (Jasper et al., 2005).
While the Massachusetts Department of Education policy fails to recognize the issue of lack of readiness on the part of LEP students, the assistant principal of Duncan High School did recognize these challenges in this way: I think the challenge here at the school has been immense. The performance of students is considered low. I think the biggest challenge is language, not only for American students but also for ESL students. I think the students do not have a good enough background in understanding language or literacy and that creates a real problem for them. Although many, for instance, can read and have some basic understanding of reading, they don’t understand how to decipher information and I think that carries into Mathematics as well. Math literacy is lacking. Those students that were exposed to information at an earlier age have never really mastered the information. They may know it for the week or for the month it was taught but because of lack of mastery they are not able to perform as well as they could when they take the actual MCAS exam.
Student and Parent Views Toward Schooling and Testing
Many students showed a level of appreciation for their school and the assistance they received from the faculty. This appreciation was often connected to their transition from Haiti to the United States, and referenced the reasons that inspired their families to immigrate to the United States. They indicated that “things have been good” for them in the school thus far. Students often talked about their dreams and goals in the new land. They envisioned things that could not be possible for them in their homeland. Many described emigrating as an opening and wished to capitalize on whatever might be presented to them.
A recurrent theme was the view that teachers went out of their way to help students prepare for the MCAS. For example, Guilene, in gratitude toward her teachers, states the following: My teachers are really good. They try hard to help you understand everything. I think they will help me with the MCAS test. I think they can do more. They are able to give you a lot of work to do.
Michelle responded in the same vein: I feel very good at this school. I don’t have any problem. My teachers help me a lot. You know . . . they make me work hard to go to college you know to get my GPA up. I have been here for one year and a few months.
Many viewed the ESL program as a good one that helped them meet their goals for the MCAS requirements. Almost all participant students maintained that the ESL program was effective in helping them prepare for the MCAS and to reach their ultimate goals and aspirations.
The appreciation that students felt for their teachers was closely tied to a sober recognition of the critical importance of education to their future, especially the doors a good education opened up for them to help their families. They clearly recognized how their future became bundled up and dependent upon their English skills and performance on the singular instrument of the MCAS test, around which loomed an undercurrent of concern and fear. For example, Guito maintained that it is very important for me to succeed in school. I don’t want to do the same work like my parents. So, I have to work hard with my English. And my parents have lot expectations of me. I think it is very important because if you don’t graduate high school, you won’t be able to go to college.
Joel expressed his aspiration to pass the MCAS and the need to do well, so that he could use it as an opportunity to go to college to help his family: It will be a good opportunity for me to graduate high school and go to college and have a profession to help my parents and other family in Haiti. I am confident I’ll graduate. It will be very excellent opportunity to provide for my family and I’d say they’ll be happy about that.
Many students spelled out the personal consequences if they did not pass the MCAS. They expressed fear of how their parents would interpret a failure to pass. The fact remained that the assistance they received from the school in terms of preparedness and other support seemed inadequate for helping them overcome the real challenges they faced. Mirlene expresses her concerns: My biggest challenge is the MCAS and the SAT. If I don’t pass them, I won’t be able to go to college. It’s important for me because my dream is to be an actress. It is very important to graduate from high school, if I don’t have the diploma, I can’t do it, that’s all. I feel like worried about that happen because if I don’t pass it.
Many participants noted that the academic difficulty of the MCAS test was not so much the problem as was the dependence of the test upon English proficiency. They indicated that Haitian students sometimes have to take tougher tests than the MCAS—for them, it was a matter of their LEP that prevented them from doing well on the test.
Student narratives tended to be personal and localized, and did not often address larger structural issues and barriers that have prevented them from graduating and going on for further education, and that might serve as the root causes of their fears and worries.
Limited English and Math Proficiency
Haitian students struggle to master the target language, and they also barely understand the new cultural environment. However, this struggle will not prevent them from taking the state-mandated test given by the Massachusetts Department of education in 10th grade. Tenth is the grade in which students are first required to take the MCAS to graduate from high school. Even though many teachers, including some principals, would admit that most of these students are not ready to take the MCAS test, it is the requirement, and so goes beyond the ability of those teachers and principals to intervene.
In a prep-English class for MCAS, I observed how Ms. Williams (used as pseudonym for confidentiality) was trying to teach students different grammatical structures and how to understand their meaning in different contexts when they are confronted with paradoxical situations.It was apparent to me that the lesson was far too complicated and advanced for those students. Yet, this is what students at this particular level should expect in the Language Arts exam for MCAS. Although attempts were made to place students at the appropriate grade level, students are often placed at a grade level for which they are not ready. Many students in the class were students who had been in the country only for the last couple of years. I do not know what their English level was before. Certainly, if they are being taught how to use auxiliary verb “should,” we expect they have prior instruction in tenses, such as the simple present, simple past, or how to use a past participle to some degree. However, past participles and modal forms are often difficult for LEP students. For example, I noted, Ms. Williams was trying to use the verb “to choose” with the modal auxiliary “should have” to teach them to conjugate—I should have chosen, you should have chosen, he or she should have chosen, we should have chosen, they should have chosen. Many students did not quite get the idea why in some cases, one just uses chose with the simple past, and on other cases, people use I should have chosen or they should have chosen for present perfect in some other contexts.
At the end of the class, one could see a level of frustration on the part of Ms. Williams. Certainly, the outcome she had hoped for did not occur, and maybe my presence in the class was a concern for her, but she seemed to be a very seasoned teacher who knew her teaching materials. It would be difficult for any teacher who found herself in a school environment in which she had to deal with a group of students who were not in their appropriate levels. This situation of misplacement is typical and can be seen in many other studies that show students need to be placed in every subject, including mathematics, according to where they are academically, not based on age alone or at a level to take mandated exams. This dilemma is revealed by the student Chantal: Yes, the teacher teaches a lot of things, but I don’t understand them. My English is very bad. My mother doesn’t know a lot of English to help me. We just came to Boston after the earthquake. I think 10th is too hard for me. I am scared to asked questions. I am not good in mathematics. It became more difficult because of my bad English. I want to finish high school to go to college. Now I don’t know if I will go.
LEP students faced not only difficulties in prep-English classes but also with obstacles to mathematical understanding. Students encountered many common obstacles when learning math in a classroom where English was the sole medium. The language they used to communicate in daily life was not the same as the one used to teach math. One challenge they faced was unidentified or miscalculated vocabulary. According to Supporting English Language Learner in Math Class (Bresser, Melanese, & Sphar, 2009), often students can become confused during a classroom séance if the mathematics lexis has different meanings in daily usage, as with the terms even, odd, and function. Students may also be confused if the same mathematical operation can be signaled with a variety of mathematics terms, such as add, and, plus, sum, and combine. For example, words such as left or how many are left in a particular calculus operation. It can be very confusing when the meaning of the direction is not used in everyday English (Bresser et al., 2009).
In general, as words in the vocabulary of a math problem that have different meanings in everyday life can present a problem for LEP students, it is better to use the language that students understand in social and practical aspects of everyday life (Cummins, 2005; Scarcella, 2003; Slavit & Ernst-Slavit, 2007). Often, the challenge for teachers was that they were not trained to teach mathematics to LEP students. They were just being put in those situations without any professional development for the problem at hand. If academic language is required to understand mathematical concepts, then this academic language needs to be taught in the context of preparing for the test (Leistyna, 2002).
Based on my interviews with some of those LEP Haitian students to pass the mandated exam, as a result of this lack of academic discourse they decide to drop before getting their high school diploma. For them, the challenge is too great to continue without any hope in sight. Future research needs to focus to a larger degree on drop-out rates for LEP students who cannot pass high-stakes exams. Research is needed that demonstrates how these students are affected by not having a high school diploma, as they are even prevented from pursuing an associate degree at a community college. It has become clear in the United States over the last 30 years that dropping out of high school has been a major obstacle that prevents many students from upward social mobility (Darling-Hammond, 2010; Lipman, 2004). A number of studies have reported that practically half of all high school students have left school before their graduation, for a variety of reasons. A great majority of them are Blacks, Latinos, Native American, and other minority groups (Darling-Hammond, 2010; Leistyna, 2002; Lipman, 2004; Rong & Preissle, 1998).
Conclusion
This ethnographic study of Duncan High School was conducted to better understand the impact of the MCAS Mandate on Haitian LEP students in Massachusetts. I have examined the relevance of MCAS in the context of learning outcomes for these minority students. To conduct a more in-depth inquiry, I collected data on the performance of Haitian and other students at a high school as an example of low performance in underfunded and underresourced schools in Massachusetts.
The study reveals a continuing pattern of imbalance in the success and achievement at the high school, and indeed in the school apparatus in general. First, the barrier imposed by the established system of accountability has done nothing but enhance more inequality. There is little evidence that the MCAS policy either creates academic excellence or improves the quality of teaching; hence, it does little to improve educational opportunities. MCAS policy devalues teaching and learning by promoting a singular focus on high-stakes testing. The ultimate outcome of this educational reform only strengthens the proletarian class structure and funnels certain students into low-skill, low-paying jobs in an expanding economy (Bowles & Gintis, 1976). The policy mandate may have made teachers more knowledgeable and granted them more access to professional development, but any knowledge gained has yet to be transferred to the classroom. Beyond that, the policy works to incrementally drive out some teachers who prefer to avoid scrutiny under the establishment of accountability. The requirements set for the accountability policy have forced teachers into a tougher position and reduced their classrooms into workshops for test preparation (Engel, 2007).
The rationale by the state and by school districts for delivering mandated curriculum to low-income students has thus far not worked. It has constituted simply another requirement that teachers have to work at to fulfill the policy mandates. In attempting to meet the state and school districts’ curricular mandates, teachers have in the process neglected the need to develop the critical thinking skills of low-income students. Such an omission has affected the learning process and the ability of low-income students to perform at the expected levels for the MCAS. As a result, many low-income students have either dropped out of the system, or the system has effectively pushed them out.
It is unfortunate that what seems to matter to the state and school districts are students’ scores on this high-stakes test simply because scores are quantifiable and measurable. In fact, these scores are often used as a platform for determining teacher performance and the future place of students in society. As low-income students do not perform well enough to make the transition to college, the dominant groups in society have a far better chance to participate in the global job market. Hence, the status quo of domination by upper-class groups is more likely to persist in the long run.
Footnotes
Appendix
Declaration of Conflicting Interests
The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.
Funding
The author(s) received no financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.