cm's Nelson-Barber

Sharon Nelson-Barber and Elise Trumbull on “Making Assessment Practices Valid for Indigenous American Students”

This article describes the reasons why educational assessments do not typically reflect the important content knowledge and understanding of indigenous or native students. The author draws on experiences of native educators and communities to talk about their ways of knowing, of learning, and problem solving. And how these can be used in the validity of assessments in the school. Suggestions are given as to how researchers and test makers can identify strategies regarding school improvement for native students. Educators and/or research findings such as Dennis Demmert describe the key means to improving education for native students. One key means is using local knowledge and culture to help student improve in assessment. The authors of this article go on to explain the term cultural validity as introduced by Solano-Flores and Nelson-Barber. Cultural validity can be viewed as a core component in assessment development and testing practices. Local assessment development is one way of addressing cultural validity according to Solano-Flores, Trumbull, & Nelson-Barber (2002).

I am thrilled to know that there are researchers and educators out there who are talking about learning how indigenous and/or native students learn and their ways of knowing and being. In addition finding ways to make assessment valid and meaningful for them. I really liked the way the Navajo teachers and non-native teachers collaborated to make assessment relevant and meaningful for the students. I think we need more awareness of educators who work with indigenous or native students. The highest benefit would go, undoubtedly, to the learner. However, as I was reading, as I almost always do, I wondered about those students who are in between. These are students who are not yet fully immersed in their own culture and/or language. I’m not sure if there’s a term for such learners. We have a few students who neither are full speakers of Yup’ik nor are they fluent speakers of English. Some times we talk about how we as educators might deal them but find no real answers on account of varied factors.