Testing Linguistic Capital: The Reproduction of Culture Through the Standardized Testing of Literacy

Creating full employment in the U.S. has become a political concern in the 1990s. Congress has declared a "war" on welfare dependency which includes forcing all capable persons to become gainfully employed. This thesis points to concerns that under current economic and cultural circumstances in the U.S., it may be illogical to assume that everyone can and will be employed. This thesis shows how access to the cultural and linguistic capital of the dominant class has been restricted from minorities. The restriction of this capital to non-minorities has lessened the chances for minorities to obtain jobs. Based on the theories of Bourdieu, this thesis shows how the ability to transmit complex language and possessing the knowledge of how to use language is part of having access to linguistic and cultural capital. Having this knowledge allows individuals to be accepted into the dominant culture and to participate socially, and in turn, this provides them with access to social mobility and allows power to be achieved. This thesis shows how cultural and linguistic capital are restricted through the use of standardized testing. By testing for ethnic and regional bias in the Comprehensive Adult Student Assessment System (CASAS), a standardized assessment used to test functional literacy in federally funded adult education programs, it will be shown how such testing has aided in the limiting of access to cultural and linguistic capital. Using statistical analyses this thesis shows that non-minorities score higher on the Follow-Up CASAS test net of the effects of other variables such as education and income. It is further shown that non-minorities answer certain questions on the CASAS correctly more often than minorities. Qualitative analysis, using eight case studies and item by item analysis of the CASAS test questions, explains how non-minorities have access to and are a part of the dominant culture. The CASAS assessment, it is shown, has been developed to model the attributes of this dominant culture. Conclusions to this thesis acknowledge that to expect minorities to succeed economically and socially in the U.S. and not include attributes of their cultures in the dominant culture, or to restrict access to this dominant culture from them, is hypocritical. Minorities need to be taught the knowledge necessary to allow them to advance socially and economically in U.S. society. Until this is done, it may be that minority groups will find it impossible to participate as successfully in society as their non-minority counterparts.

Author dc:creator

• Judd, Lynette A.

Contributors dc:contributor

• Romo, Harriett D.
• Forbes, Douglas
• Jorgenson, Christabel B.
• Jorgenson, David E.

• reading
• ability testing
• functional literacy
• intercultural communication
• educational sociology

Language dc:language

en

Identifier

Judd, L.A. (1995). Testing linguistic capital: The reproduction of culture through the standardized testing of literacy [Master's thesis, Southwest Texas State University].

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:tdl-ir.tdl.org:10877/19817