Assessment for Equity: Exploring How Secondary Educators Utilize Classroom Management and Assessment Practices to Sustain Student Identities

Abstract

Disparities in school discipline across lines of race and disability status represent one of the most pressing issues in the field of education today. While there are many factors that perpetuate these disparities, teachers and their approaches to classroom management likely play a role. As evidence emerges on the relationship between race, disability status, and the use of punitive discipline at a national level, less is known about the ways in which teachers’ approaches to classroom management and classroom management assessment influence these trends at the classroom level. This article addresses this by exploring findings from a qualitative study examining classroom management approaches across five focus groups consisting of 25 educators to identify how educators’ management and assessment practices sustain the identities of their students. Based on these findings, recommendations for future research and practice are discussed.