This is the first book to present a practical, problem-solving approach and hands-on tools and techniques for assessing English language learners and culturally diverse students in K-12 settings. It meets a crucial need among practitioners and special educators working in today's schools.
This is the first book to present a practical, problem-solving approach and hands-on tools and techniques for assessing English-language learners and culturally diverse students in K-12 settings. It meets a crucial need among practitioners and special educators working in today's schools. Provided are research-based, step-by-step procedures for conducting effective interviews with students, parents, and teachers; making the best use of interpreters; addressing special issues in the prereferral process; and conducting accurate, unbiased assessments of academic achievement, intellectual functioning, language proficiency, and acculturation. Among the book's special features are reproducible worksheets, questionnaires, and checklists--including several in both English and Spanish--in a ready-to-use, large-size format.
Given the growing numbers of linguistically and culturally diverse students in the schools--and their disproportionate representation in special education--it is critical for school psychologists, school administrators, and educators to become knowledgeable about the impact of culture and language on student achievement and behavior. This important, accessible resource synthesizes a complex body of literature in a manner that is easily understandable, and provides practical suggestions to improve prereferral and special education decision making.--Jessica Blom-Hoffman, PhD, Department of Counseling and Applied Educational Psychology, Northeastern University This book contains a wealth of information that every school psychologist and child psychologist assessing English language learners should have at hand. The issues are clearly presented and carefully argued. The reader is led to appreciate the need for a complex, integrated approach for untangling the relative influence of cultural and linguistic factors on test performance.--Jonathan Sandoval, PhD, School of Education, University of California, DavisA 'must read.' This book provides an excellent, integrated approach to assessing culturally and linguistically diverse children. Coverage includes legal and ethical requirements, the use of interpreters, practical information about specific measures, and other relevant topics. It will be of value to a broad range of professionals serving children in schools, community agencies, and hospitals. The book will also serve as a first-class text for psychologists-in-training because of the many resources it contains and the completeness with which each topic is treated.--Ena Vazquez-Nuttall, EdD, Combined Doctoral Program in School and Counseling Psychology, Northeastern UniversityThis book serves as a solid introduction to the challenges facing educators, particularly school psychologists, who work with children from diverse backgrounds. The scenarios presented throughout the book provide practical guidelines and examples of situations that school psychologists are likely to encounter. A particular strength of the book is the consideration of culture and language as dynamic and changing rather than static and absolute. The discussion of issues in bilingual assessment is particularly important and helps to frame the state of the art.--Elizabeth D. Peña, PhD, Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, University of Texas at Austin-
