Learning to Talk Like the Test: Guiding Speakers of African American Vernacular English

In this article, we focus on instructional support for 91 students who speak African American Vernacular English and who are at high risk for not passing the required state exams. We profile the instruction that was provided and the results from that instruction, providing examples of how students' language was scaffolded such that they could code switch between test language (standard academic English) and the languages of their homes. (Contains 8 figures.)