Drawing from sociocultural and anthropological perspectives, I present 3 case examples of bilingual, Mexican-origin students enrolled in a transitional bilingual educational program in an urban elementary school. By using the theoretical constructs of figured worlds, authoring, and "formas de ser" (ways of being), I examine how student identities were in a constant and dialogic state of formation by the students themselves and others. I discuss how high-stakes testing and other schooling practices narrowly authored students behaviorally, academically, and linguistically--bringing about schooling environments where students' strengths and multifaceted "formas de ser" were all-too-often overlooked. (Contains 3 footnotes.)