The politics of educational inequity toward students with limited English proficiency in the age of high stakes testing accountability: A descriptive ethnographic study of Haitian youth in Boston public schools

The purpose of this research study was to explore the underlying issues related to the poor performance of Haitian youth students on the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System (MCAS) in the Boston Public School system. In order to adequately answer the research questions, a descriptive ethnographic approach was used as the research genre, focusing on one high school that is located in the greater Boston area. An ethnographic approach was used for this study. It is considered a well thought out approach to qualitative research because of its depth both in terms of investigation and analysis, especially when analyzing the culture of a particular group of people. In this case, it was useful to uncover the attitudes and fears of Haitian youth toward high stakes testing in the United States.;To uncover the fears of those youth toward MCAS, a sample of 13 students was interviewed over a period of 10 weeks. All of the students are Haitian; the majority of them were 10th graders. The 10th graders were targeted because 10th grade is the grade level in which all students are required to pass MCAS exam under Massachusetts law. Many of those students that were interviewed have been in the country for only about a year. It was clear, based on oral interviews collected, that the majority of the students have difficulties succeeding in MCAS both in term of their limited English proficiency and their lack of cultural understanding in the new school environment.;Key findings from the study suggest that Haitian youth are motivated to realize their academic potential but factors such as limited English proficiency, lack of literacy and numeracy in their native language, have prevented them from reaching their immediate goals and indeed passing the mandated exam. The school seems to have been making efforts to promote engagement but has been unable to demonstrate positive results based on data included in the school's Annual Year Report.