American Educational Research Journal

Kolluri, Suneal

doi: 10.3102/00028312251376251pmid: N/A

African American studies—a discipline grounded in celebrations of Black culture and resistance to anti-Blackness—is now being piloted in Advanced Placement (AP)—an educational program that has long excluded Black people and promoted dominant cultural norms. In the parlance of Audre Lorde, AP may be a “master’s tool“ incapable of dismantling racism. This case study of two AP African American studies classes investigated whether the course can teach students how they might undermine anti-Black racism. Findings suggest that the course has a strong potential to encourage Black joy but neglects to interrogate racism as a modern-day systemic phenomenon. This shortcoming calls into question the capacity of AP African American Studies to prepare students to democratically challenge anti-Black racism.

Wilson, Joshua; Palermo, Corey; Myers, Matthew C.; Cruz Cordero, Tania; Eacker, Halley; Potter, Andrew; Coles, Jessica; May, Henry; Zhang, Fan

doi: 10.3102/00028312251388655pmid: N/A

This study used a randomized, controlled trial to assess the impact of the automated writing evaluation system MI Write on middle school students from traditionally underserved groups, including Black and Hispanic/Latinx students and those experiencing poverty. The research focused on whether students who used MI Write for one school year (n = 1,260) showed improved argumentative writing performance, increased self-efficacy, greater enjoyment of writing, and stronger beliefs in the recursive nature of writing compared with those who did not use MI Write (n = 1,227). No significant overall treatment effects were found, but significant treatment by district interactions emerged. Perceptions of MI Write were positive overall but varied by district. Findings reveal the limitations and promise of automated writing evaluation.