Theses and Dissertations
Date of Award
5-1-2026
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Education (EdD)
Department
Curriculum & Instruction
First Advisor
Ana Carolina Díaz Beltrán
Second Advisor
Pauli Badenhorst
Third Advisor
Michael Mena
Abstract
This qualitative narrative study examines the lived experiences of seven Long-Term Emergent Bilinguals (LTEBs) in Texas public schools, with a particular focus on the TELPAS test and its role in shaping students’ academic trajectories. Grounded in decolonial theory and a raciolinguistic ideological perspective, the study investigates how state-mandated English proficiency assessments and identification practices reproduce inequities and racialized linguistic hierarchies. Using pláticas as a culturally sustaining methodological approach, narrative accounts were collected from seven U.S.-born, Spanish-English bilingual Latinx students from the Rio Grande Valley. Findings reveal that the home language survey and TELPAS language proficiency assessment function as colonial sorting mechanisms that stigmatize bilingual students, restrict access to academic opportunities, and invalidate students’ linguistic repertoires. Participants described experiences of social marking, instructional disruption, emotional harm, and resistance to assessment practices that privilege standardized academic English over authentic bilingual practices. The study highlights how TELPAS operates as a gatekeeping tool that contributes to prolonged emergent bilingual status and academic dispossession.
Recommended Citation
Valdez, L. A. (2026). “Oh, Hey, Miss, Why Am I Taking This Test?”: Amplifying the Critical Voices of Long-Term Emergent Bilinguals From the RGV on TELPAS [Doctoral dissertation, The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley]. ScholarWorks @ UTRGV. https://scholarworks.utrgv.edu/etd/1877
Comments
Copyright 2026 Luisa Adriana Valdez. All Rights Reserved. https://proquest.com/docview/3371132976