Antiracist Writing Assessment Ecologies is a groundbreaking work by Asao B. Inoue, designed to reshape the way we think about writing assessment in educational settings. This book is part of the PERSPECTIVES ON WRITING series, edited by the esteemed Susan H. McLeod and Rich Rice. In this insightful text, Inoue theorizes that writing assessment is a complex system, incorporating numerous interconnected elements that go beyond surface-level evaluation.

Inoue delves into the importance of incorporating antiracist principles into writing classrooms, emphasizing that such work is crucial for effective literacy learning. He examines the concept of white racial habitus and how it influences dominant discourses within academic and other environments. By recognizing and addressing these ingrained biases, educators can begin to create a more equitable learning atmosphere.

The book provides educators with the tools to identify and critique the unintended racism that can arise when writing assessments lack explicit antiracist goals. Drawing upon his extensive teaching experience and classroom research, Inoue presents a heuristic framework for developing and evaluating writing assessment ecologies. This framework encompasses seven key elements: power, parts, purposes, people, processes, products, and places. Each element is crucial for understanding and improving the assessment landscape within writing education.

Asao B. Inoue is not only a respected academic but also a passionate advocate for change in writing pedagogy. He serves as the Director of University Writing and is an Associate Professor of Interdisciplinary Arts and Sciences at the University of Washington Tacoma. Inoue has made significant contributions to the field of writing assessment, with publications featured in prominent journals such as Assessing Writing, The Journal of Writing Assessment, Composition Forum, and Research in the Teaching of English. His scholarly work is widely recognized, including the award-winning co-edited collection, Race and Writing Assessment (2012), which received the CCCC’s Outstanding Book Award for an edited collection.

Moreover, Antiracist Writing Assessment Ecologies has garnered multiple accolades, including the Conference on College Composition and Communication’s 2017 Outstanding Book Award for a monograph and the Council of Writing Program Administrators’ 2015 Outstanding Book Award (awarded in 2017). These honors underscore the book’s significance and its potential impact on the field of writing assessment.

This book serves as an essential resource for educators, administrators, and anyone invested in promoting social justice through writing education. By engaging with the ideas presented in Antiracist Writing Assessment Ecologies, teachers can better understand the complexities of their assessment practices and work towards creating a writing curriculum that is inclusive and equitable for all students.