"Street language" isn't a "real language" (i.e. taught) such as English or German. If someone does not know "proper American English" then it is normally from a lack of caring or knowledge.
I won't disagree with this statement, but I have on multiple occasions BS'd my way through essay/long answer questions to receive partial credit. And this was throughout high school, college, and grad school, with numerous intructors.
I don't entirely disagree with you but I would imagine that English speakers (from England) would make a similar argument about "proper American English" as you call it.
Eh. It's moot regardless. The ACT doesn't teach anyone anything. It's supposed to provide a measure of what you have already learned. In that way it could scarcely be more different than studying anatomy through dissection.
I won't disagree with anything you are saying, but I was taking exception to the opinion that standardized tests are culturally biased. I have heard this argument many times, but I have yet to see any real proof that it is true.
Unlike you, I didn't sign up to contest a single debate. Also, Braylon Heard not qualifying is the original discussion. All other things discussed have been spin-offs of that original discussion. It's disingenuous to claim your argument is more original than others.
I doubt that such proof as you're looking for actually exists. There are many studies showing a consistent and repeatable black-white test score gap but proving that said gap is due to culturally biased testing is nearly impossible. There are entirely too many possible causes to form a concrete conclusion.
Of course it's a real language. Hundreds of thousands of people in this country speak it - it's real. You're basically saying that if it isn't taught in grammar classes, it doesn't exist. Hip Hop generally isn't taught in the schools either, does that mean it's not real music?
It's not a language, it's a dialect. Also, American English is dialect of "Standard English."