Jump to ContentJump to Main Navigation
Show Summary Details
More options …

Multicultural Learning and Teaching

Editor-in-Chief: Obiakor, Festus / Algozzine, Robert

Managing Editor: Banks, Tachelle

Online
ISSN
2161-2412
See all formats and pricing
More options …

Assessment Practices of Multi-disciplinary School Team Members in Determining Special Education Services for English Language Learners

Garrett Sadowski / Rob O’Neill / Doug Bermingham
Published Online: 2013-06-26 | DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/mlt-2012-0010

Abstract

Multidisciplinary team members were surveyed to identify the frequency with which they use recommended assessment practices, how they interpret assessment information, and their confidence working with English Language Learners (ELLs) for the purpose of determining possible eligibility to receive special education services. Results of this study support the idea that recommendations from the literature are being increasingly put into practice by professionals working directly with students. Findings also indicate that professionals benefit from higher education and in-service trainings that focus specifically on issues relating to the assessment of ELLs for the determination of possible provision of special education services. Furthermore, results support the importance of multidisciplinary collaboration.

Keywords: English Language Learner; assessment; special educator

References

  • Abedi, J. (2006). Psychometric issues in the ELL assessment and special education eligibility. Teachers College Record, 108(11), 2282–2303.CrossrefGoogle Scholar

  • Allison, K. W., Crawford, I., Echemendia, R., Robinson, L., & Knepp, D. (1994). Human diversity and professional competence: Training in clinical and counseling psychology revisited. American Psychologist, 49(9), 792–796. doi: 10.1037/0003-066x.49.9.792CrossrefGoogle Scholar

  • Artiles, A. J., & Ortiz, A. A. (2002). English Language Learners with special education needs: identification, assessment, and instruction: Center for Applied Linguistics.Google Scholar

  • ASHA. (2004). Knowledge and skills needed by speech-language pathologists and audiologists to provide culturally and linguistically appropriate services. ASHA Supplement, 24, 1–7.Google Scholar

  • Ayalon, A., & Sagy, S. (2011). Acculturation attitudes and perceptions of collective narratives: The case of Israeli Arab youth. Youth & Society, 43(3), 819–844.Web of ScienceGoogle Scholar

  • Beck, A. R. (1995). Language assessment methods for three age groups of children. Journal of Communication Development, 17(2), 51–56.Google Scholar

  • Bylund, E. (2009). Maturational constraints and first language attrition. Language Learning, 59(3), 687–715. doi: 10.1111/j.1467-9922.2009.00521.xCrossrefWeb of ScienceGoogle Scholar

  • Caesar, L. G., & Kohler, P. D. (2007). The state of school-based bilingual assessment: actual practice versus recommended guidelines. Language, Speech, and Hearing Services in Schools, 38(3), 190–200. doi: 0.1044/0161-1461(2007/020)Google Scholar

  • Caesar, L. G., & Kohler, P. D. (2009). Tools clinicians use: A survey of language assessment procedures used by school-based speech-language pathologists. Communication Disorders Quarterly, 30(4), 226–236. doi: 10.1177/1525740108326334CrossrefGoogle Scholar

  • Collier, C. (2004). Acculturation quickscreen administration manual. Ferndale, WA: Cross Cultural Developmental Education Services.Google Scholar

  • Cuellar, I. (1995). Acculturation rating scale for Mexican Americans II: A revision of the original ARSMA scale. Hispanic Journal of Behavioral Sciences, 17(3), 275.CrossrefGoogle Scholar

  • Ford, B. A. (1992). Multicultural training for special educators working with African-American youth. Exceptional Children, 59, 107–114.Google Scholar

  • Garcia, S. B., & Ortiz, A. A. (1988). Preventing inappropriate referrals of language minority students to special education: Occasional papers in bilingual education. Silver Spring, MD: The National Clearinghouse for Bilingual Education.Google Scholar

  • Gutiérrez-Clellen, V. F., & Kreiter, J. (2003). Understanding child bilingual acquisition using parent and teacher reports. Applied Psycholinguistics, 24, 267–288.Google Scholar

  • Gutierrez-Clellen, V. F., & Peña, E. (2001). Dynamic assessment of diverse children: A tutorial. Language, Speech, and Hearing Services in Schools, 32(4), 212–224. doi: 10.1044/0161-1461(2001/019)CrossrefWeb of ScienceGoogle Scholar

  • Hooks, L. M. (2008). Help! They don’t speak English: Partnering preservice teachers with adult English Language Learners. Journal of Early Childhood Teacher Education, 29(2), 97–107.Google Scholar

  • Horton-Ikard, R., Munoz, M. L., Thomas-Tate, S., & Keller-Bell, Y. (2009). Establishing a pedagogical framework for the multicultural course in communication sciences and disorders. American Journal of Speech-Language Pathology, 18(2), 192–206.Web of ScienceCrossrefGoogle Scholar

  • Humes, K. R., Jones, N. A., & Ramirez, R. R. (2011). Overview of race and Hispanic origin: 2010. 2010 Census Briefs: U.S. Department of Commerce: Economics and Statistics Administration.Google Scholar

  • Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, Pub. L. No. PL 108-446, HR 1350 Stat. (2004).Google Scholar

  • Kohnert, K., & Pham, G. (2010). The process of acquiring a first and second language. In M. Shatz & L. C. Wilkinson (Eds.), The education of English Language Learners, research to practice, 63–81. New York, NY: Guilford Press.Google Scholar

  • Laing, S. P., & Kamhi, A. (2003). Alternative assessment of language and literacy in culturally and linguistically diverse populations. Language, Speech, and Hearing Services in Schools, 34(1), 44–55. doi: 10.1044/0161-1461(2003/005)CrossrefGoogle Scholar

  • Leung, B. P. (1996). Quality assessment practices in a diverse society. Teaching Exceptional Children, 28, 42–45.Google Scholar

  • Luchtel, M. (2011). The effect of language acculturation on parent-child interactions and problem behaviors among children who are Hispanic. Iowa State University Ph.D., Iowa State University. ProQuest Dissertations & Theses (PQDT) database.Google Scholar

  • Macswan, J., & Rolstad, K. (2006). How language proficiency tests mislead us about ability: Implications for English Language Learner placement in special education. Teachers College Record, 108(11), 2304–2328.CrossrefGoogle Scholar

  • Malekan, M. (2010). Entangled between ESL-ness and poverty: Acculturation of students in a grade 34 class.Queen’s University (Canada) Ph.D., Queen’s University (Canada), Canada.Google Scholar

  • Muñoz, M. L., & Marquardt, T. P. (2008). The performance of neurologically normal bilingual speakers of Spanish and English on the short version of the bilingual aphasia test. Aphasiology, 22(1), 3–19. doi: 10.1080/02687030600670742CrossrefWeb of ScienceGoogle Scholar

  • Ochoa, S. H., Riccio, C., Jimenez, S., De Alba, R. G., & Sines, M. (2004). Psychological assessment of English Language Learners and/or bilingual students: An investigation of school psychologists’ current practices. Journal of Psychoeducational Assessment, 22(3), 185–208.CrossrefGoogle Scholar

  • Overton, T., Fielding, C., & Simonsson, M. (2004). Decision making in determining eligibility of culturally and linguistically diverse learners: Reasons given by assessment personnel. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 37(4), 319–330.CrossrefGoogle Scholar

  • Paradis, J., Emmerzael, K., & Duncan, T. S. (2010). Assessment of English Language Learners: Using parent report on first language development. Journal of Communication Disorders, 43(6–), 474–497.CrossrefWeb of ScienceGoogle Scholar

  • Park, S. (2007). The effects of acculturation and education upon intelligence test performances in Korean Americans. Pacific Graduate School of Psychology Ph.D., Pacific Graduate School of Psychology.Google Scholar

  • Peña, E., Iglesias, A., & Lidz, C. S. (2001). Reducing test bias through dynamic assessment of children’s word learning ability. American Journal of Speech-Language Pathology, 10(2), 138–154. doi: 10.1044/1058-0360(2001/014)CrossrefGoogle Scholar

  • Rhodes, R., Ochoa, S., & Ortiz, S. O. (2005). Assessing culturally and linguistically diverse students: A practical guide. New York, NY: Guilford Press.Google Scholar

  • Rivera, M. B. P. (2011). Mothers’ acculturation and beliefs about emotions, mother–child emotion discourse, and children’s emotion understanding in Latino families. Early Education & Development, 22(2), 324–354.Web of ScienceCrossrefGoogle Scholar

  • Sam, D., & Berry, J. (2006). The Cambridge handbook of acculturation psychology. Cambridge, United Kingdom: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar

  • Schon, J., Shaftel, J., & Markham, P. (2008). Contemporary issues in the assessment of culturally and linguistically diverse learners. Journal of Applied School Psychology, 24(2), 163–189.Google Scholar

  • Seliger, H. W., & Vago, R. M. (1991). First language attrition. Cambridge, United Kingdom: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar

  • Shatz, M., & Wilkinson, L. C. (2010). The education of English Language Learners: Research to practice. New York, NY: Guilford Publications.Google Scholar

  • Snowden, L. R., & Hines, A. M. (1999). A scale to assess African American acculturation. The Journal of Black Psychology, 25(1), 6–47.Google Scholar

  • Spenader, A. J. (2011). Language learning and acculturation: Lessons from high school and gap-year exchange students. Foreign Language Annals, 44(2), 381–398.CrossrefGoogle Scholar

  • Spinelli, C. G. (2008). Addressing the issue of cultural and linguistic diversity and assessment: Informal evaluation measures for English Language Learners. Reading and Writing Quarterly, 24(1), 101–118.CrossrefGoogle Scholar

  • Tyler, N. C., Yzquierdo, Z., Lopez-Reyna, N., & Saunders Flippin, S. (2004). Cultural and linguistic diversity and the special education workforce. The Journal of Special Education, 38(1), 22–38. doi: 10.1177/00224669040380010301CrossrefGoogle Scholar

  • Vagh, S. B., Pan, B. A., & Mancilla-Martinez, J. (2009). Measuring growth in bilingual and monolingual children’s English productive vocabulary development: The utility of combining parent and teacher report. Child Development, 80(5), 1545–1563. doi: 10.1111/j.1467-8624.2009.01350.xCrossrefGoogle Scholar

  • Van De Vijver, F. J. R. (2011). Assessment of immigration and acculturation. Encyclopedia on Early Childhood Development, 1–8. http://www.child-encyclopedia.com/pages/PDF/van_de_VijverANGxp1.pdf.

  • Van De Vijver, F. J. R., & Phalet, K. (2004). Assessment in multicultural groups: The role of acculturation. Applied Psychology, 53(2), 215–236. doi: 10.1111/j.1464-0597.2004.00169CrossrefGoogle Scholar

  • Ventura-Miller, H., Barnes, J. C., & Hartley, R. D. (2011). Reconsidering Hispanic gang membership and acculturation in a multivariate context. Crime & Delinquency, 57(3), 331–355. doi: 10.1177/0011128709348460Web of ScienceCrossrefGoogle Scholar

  • Wilkinson, C. Y., Ortiz, A. A., Robertson, P. M., & Kushner, M. I. (2006). English Language Learners with reading-related LD: Linking data from multiple sources to make eligibility determinations. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 39(2), 129–141.CrossrefGoogle Scholar

About the article

Published Online: 2013-06-26

Published in Print: 2014-09-01


Citation Information: Multicultural Learning and Teaching, Volume 9, Issue 2, Pages 121–141, ISSN (Online) 2161-2412, ISSN (Print) 2194-654X, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/mlt-2012-0010.

Export Citation

©2014 by De Gruyter.Get Permission

Comments (0)

Please log in or register to comment.
Log in