The increase in numbers of children and families who are culturally and linguistically diverse served in early intervention and early childhood special education requires greater awareness and use of family-centered and culturally responsive practices. The purpose of this study was to identify the training needs, challenges, and level of…

Although research in science education has led to new assessment forms and functions, the reality is that little work has been done to unpack and capture what it means for a teacher to develop expertise at assessing science. The purpose of this paper is two-fold. First, I suggest a conceptualization of assessment expertise that is organized around…

Latino English Language Learners represent the largest group of language minority students attending public school in the United States. Research is needed to address the early literacy problems which impede this population from acquiring literacy in the English language with efficacy and to determine the most effective assessment and intervention…

Surveys school psychologists to examine the acceptability of methods used to assess the cognitive ability of language minority students. Responses indicated that the use of a bilingual school psychologist, and the use of tests in English when a student is dominant in English were usually or always acceptable. Sometimes or usually acceptable were…

My article set out a radical view of how I believe tests for students of EIL should change both immediately and in the longer term. Exam boards, as Lynda Taylor acknowledges, are by nature conservative, so it was welcome to see in her response signs that testers are beginning to change their attitude towards English language norms. Nevertheless,…

Describes a three-step plan is described that general and special educators can use to obtain assessment information from children with linguistically diverse backgrounds. The steps include identifying the assessment's purpose (which involves how students approach learning tasks, apply their knowledge, and attain final outcomes), knowing the child…

A major challenge facing the prekindergarten-12 education system in the United States is the fact that as the population changes, the particular needs of children change with it. One of the largest demographic shifts over the last ten years is the sharp increase in the number of students in public schools who speak English as their second language…

Describes a curriculum-based dynamic language-assessment process using a flowchart description of the six steps of the assessment process. A case study of a linguistically diverse student is provided that is designed to allow insight into a student's learning capabilities and to provide direction for instructional planning. (CR)

This article discusses using cross-language transfer as a diagnostic tool for identifying reading difficulties of language learners. It is argued that if children have enough exposure to and instruction in their first language, their skills and insights can be assessed and compared to skills and insights in their second language. (Contains…

This document presents four research-based papers that were the catalyst for discussions at the first Mid-Continent Research for Education and Learning diversity roundtable in 1998. The goals established for this roundtable included: building participants' capacity for working with diverse populations; providing a catalyst for participants to…

This article discusses barriers to the identification of gifted students, including linguistic function, learning style attributes, self-concept perceptions, and locus of control issues. Methods of detecting hidden giftedness are provided for each of these barriers, along with approaches to intervention. (Contains 8 references.) (CR)

This article summarizes the concepts discussed in a five-article clinical forum on cultural/linguistic variation and its implications for assessment and intervention in speech-language pathology. Topics discussed include a need for a paradigm shift in assessment, the socioemotional factors affecting student performance on assessments, bilingual…

This article presents an approach to a variety of syndromes and patterns of language disorders in bilingual speakers and polyglots. This framework demands that in neuropsychological analysis, all the variables and dynamics of bilingual development have to be taken into consideration, along with details of the neurological syndrome. (Contains…

This paper presents a procedure for the assessment, identification, and placement of second language learners in the Chester Upland School District in Pennsylvania. The second language learner educational program is designed to: (1) make instructional use of both English and the student's native language; (2) enable second language learners to…

This article discusses the use of language sample analysis (LSA) as a screening tool for preschool linguistic minority children due to the difficulty of using standardized tests in assessing language delays in speakers of minority dialects and languages. The use of LSA with seven African American preschoolers is examined. (CR)