Institutionalizing literacy : the historical role of college entrance examinations in English

Resource Information

The work Institutionalizing literacy : the historical role of college entrance examinations in English represents a distinct intellectual or artistic creation found in University of Missouri-St. Louis Libraries. This resource is a combination of several types including: Work, Language Material, Books.

Label

Institutionalizing literacy : the historical role of college entrance examinations in English

Title remainder

the historical role of college entrance examinations in English

Statement of responsibility

Mary Trachsel

Creator

• Trachsel, Mary, 1953-

Subject

• College
• Englisch
• English philology -- Examinations
• English philology -- Examinations | History
• English philology -- Study and teaching
• English philology -- Study and teaching -- United States -- History
• Geschichte
• History
• Aufnahmeprüfung
• Literacy
• Literacy -- United States -- History
• Sprachfertigkeit
• USA
• United States
• Universities and colleges -- Entrance examinations
• Universities and colleges -- United States -- Entrance examinations | History
• LANGUAGE ARTS & DISCIPLINES -- Linguistics | General

Genre

• History

Language

eng

Summary

In this book, Mary Trachsel discusses how college entrance examinations have served as an instrument for the academic institutionalization of literacy. By considering the interaction of educational, political, institutional, technological, regional, and economic forces at work in the academy's definition of literacy, she argues that entrance examinations chart a change of view from literacy as achievement to literacy as aptitude. Trachsel begins her study by outlining current theory on literacy. She identifies two separate approaches to the task of defining literacy: a "formal" approach that explains literacy as an exclusively academic activity and a "functional" approach that lies in basic opposition to mainstream academic values and practices. Trachsel then examines testing as an academic practice that enforces a primarily formal definition of literacy. In presenting a thorough documentation of historical developments in entrance examinations in English, she notes that while these examinations originated in academic departments of English, they have long since been taken over by bureaucratic agencies the values and goal of which are at odds with the concept of literacy upheld by the professional community of English studies scholars and teachers. In her final chapter, Trachsel presents a critique of present-day English studies. She illustrates her critique with a historical consideration of entrance examinations in English, providing samples of actual test questions which indicate the larger ideological struggles that form the history of English studies. In voicing her concern with the ways the standard entrance examination movement traces the development of a professional identity for English studies specialists, Trachsel encourages all professionals in the field to devote their attention to articulating their own definition of literacy and to devising a means for assessing literacy that is in accord with that definition

Action

digitized

Cataloging source

N$T

Dewey number

420/.76

Index

index present

LC call number

PE68.U5

LC item number

T73 1992eb

Literary form

non fiction

Nature of contents

• dictionaries
• bibliography