Socioculturally Responsive Assessment Implications for Theory, Measurement, and Systems-Level Policy

List of Contributors

Socioculturally Responsive Assessment: An Introduction
Randy E. Bennett, Linda Darling-Hammond, Aneesha Badrinarayan

Section I: Conceptualization

Overview
Linda Darling-Hammond

1. A Descriptive Review of Culturally Responsive, Socioculturally Responsive, and Related Assessment Conceptions
Randy E. Bennett

2. Implications of the Science of Learning and Development (SoLD) for Assessments in Education
Carol D. Lee

3. Cultural Validity: Conceptual and Methodological Considerations for Socioculturally Responsive Assessment
Guillermo Solano-Flores and Maria Araceli Ruiz-Primo

4. Assessment for Social Justice With a Focus on American Indigenous Students Sharon Nelson-Barber and Elise Trumbull

5. Transforming Educational Assessment: Implementing Equitable and Inclusive Strategies
Elham Zandvakili and Edmund W. Gordon

Section II. Measurement Considerations and Approaches

Overview
Randy E. Bennett

6. Born Socioculturally Responsive Assessment: An Approach to Design and Development
Edynn Sato

7. Designing Socioculturally Responsive Assessments Within the Mandated Bookends of K-12 Assessment Systems
Catherine Welch and Stephen Dunbar

8. Examining the Relationship Between the Cultural Relevance of Text and Reading Proficiency: Using a Cultural Relevance Rubric in Reading Assessment 
Ann Ebe

9. Linking Responsive Assessments: Challenges and Possibilities
Tim Moses

10. An Evidentiary-Reasoning Lens for Socioculturally Responsive Assessment 
Robert J. Mislevy, Maria Elena Oliveri, David Slomp, Alanna Crop Eared Wolf, and Norbert Elliot

Section III: Working Examples and Systems-Level Policy Implications

Overview
Aneesha Badrinarayan

11. Accessibility as a Core Value for Locally Responsive Assessments
Rochelle Michel and Vitaliy Shyyan

12. “A Search for My Voice”: Socioculturally Responsive Assessment in AP Art and Design
David S. Escoffery, Katherine E. Fletcher, and Rebecca A. Stone-Danahy

13. Socioculturally Responsive Large-Scale Assessment: The Case of the 2026 NAEP Reading Framework
Allison Skerrett, Mariana Pacheco, Kathleen A. Hinchman, Gina N. Cervetti, P. David Pearson, and Cynthia Greenleaf

14. A Path to Transforming the Assessment Landscape
Pōhai Kūkea Shultz and Kerry Englert

15. Enacting Socioculturally Responsive Assessment Design at Scale: Approaches and Policies for Large-Scale Systems
Aneesha Badrinarayan and Linda Darling-Hammond

Section IV: Research Directions

Overview
Randy E. Bennett

16. Group Differences Across Scenario-Based Reading Assessments: Examining the Effects of Culturally Relevant Test Content
Zuowei Wang, Jesse R. Sparks, Michael Walker, Tenaha O’Reilly, and Kelly Bruce

17. Socioculturally Responsive Post-Secondary Entrance Examination: Implications for Equitable Assessment Design in Sub-Saharan Africa
Monsurat Omobola Raji and David Baidoo-Anu

18. Understanding UNDERSTANDardization Research
Stephen G. Sireci, Eduardo Crespo Cruz, Javier Suárez-Álvarez, and Gabriel Rodríguez Matos

Conclusion: Socioculturally Responsive Assessment: Present and Future
Randy E. Bennett, Linda Darling-Hammond, and Aneesha Badrinarayan

Index

Biography

Randy E. Bennett is Chair in Assessment Innovation at Educational Testing Service and Past-President of the National Council on Measurement in Education.

Linda Darling-Hammond is Charles E. Ducommun Professor of Education Emeritus at the Stanford Graduate School of Education of Stanford University, USA; President and CEO of the Learning Policy Institute; and Past-President of the American Educational Research Association.

Aneesha Badrinarayan is Principal Consultant at Education First Consulting.