For an expressive morphology and syntax assessment of AAVE speakers, which item would be LEAST biased against such speakers?

• A. Agreement of personal pronouns with their antecedents in gender and number
• B. Use of the past-tense ending "-ed"
• C. Sentences with multiple negation
• D. Use of the auxiliary verb "be" in the present progressive tense

Answer: (A)

When assessing expressive morphology and syntax across dialects, the aim is to measure a speaker’s genuine control of grammar without rewarding or penalizing features that are characteristic of a particular variety. Pronoun agreement with an antecedent in gender and number fits this goal well because it reflects a stable reference-tracking skill used in most English varieties. Getting the pronoun to match the antecedent’s gender and number taps into understanding of who or what the noun refers to and how to reference it correctly, a fundamental morphosyntactic rule that tends to be maintained across dialects, including AAVE.

In contrast, evaluating past-tense formation with -ed, negation patterns that rely on multiple negation, or habitual use of the auxiliary be in present progressive form targets features that are well documented as distinctive of AAVE. These patterns can be legitimate, systematic aspects of that dialect, so scoring them in a general morphosyntax assessment would risk conflating dialectal variation with ability, introducing bias against AAVE speakers.