Assessing the cognitive abilities of culturally and linguistically diverse students: Predictive validity of verbal, quantitative, and nonverbal tests

Abstract

Verbal and quantitative reasoning tests provide valuable information about cognitive abilities that are important to academic success. Information about these abilities may be particularly valuable to teachers of students who are English‐language learners (ELL), because leveraging reasoning skills to support comprehension is a critical aptitude for their academic success. However, due to concerns about cultural bias, many researchers advise exclusive use of nonverbal tests with ELL students despite a lack of evidence that nonverbal tests provide greater validity for these students. In this study, a test measuring verbal, quantitative, and nonverbal reasoning was administered to a culturally and linguistically diverse sample of students. The two‐year predictive relationship between ability and achievement scores revealed that nonverbal scores had weaker correlations with future achievement than did quantitative and verbal reasoning ability scores for ELL and non‐ELL students. Results do not indicate differential prediction and do not support the exclusive use of nonverbal tests for ELL students. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Assessing English language learners

“…The authors suggested that these nonverbal assessments were not a valid or reliable way to assess for giftedness for students who were ELL and that the nonverbal assessments may be less valid for this subgroup of students (Lohman, Korb, & Lakin, 2008). Lakin (2012) found similar results in another study. The verbal reasoning and quantitative reasoning subtests of the CogAT assessment (a group administered test) were shown to be better indicators of future academic achievement for the students who were ELL when compared to the nonverbal assessments.…”

“…The measures in this study were the CogAT (verbal, nonverbal, and quantitative reasoning batteries) and the Arizona Instrument to Measure Standards Dual Purpose Assessment (AIMS DPA) (reading/language arts and math subtests). Lakin (2012) found that the largest differences in scores between the students who were ELL and the students who were not ELL were in the verbal reasoning and math areas of the assessment. For all of the students, there were high correlations between Summary.…”

“…Nonetheless, all of these assessments differ in terms of content, subject, and reliability and validity for students who are ELL (Athanasiou, 2000). Furthermore, they do not always close the gap in scores between students who are ELL and students who speak English as their native language (Lee, 2007;Lohman, Korb, & Lakin, 2008;Lakin, 2012).…”

“…Together, these studies suggested that, although nonverbal assessments may give school professionals an additional way to assess students who are ELL, they may not be the best way (Lohman, Korb, & Lakin, 2008). Students in these studies scored lower on nonverbal assessments than on the other assessments, both when the assessments were in the students' native language and when the assessments were in their second language (Lee, 2007;Lakin, 2012).…”

An Investigation of the Link Between Nonverbal Aptitude and Academic Achievement

“…When investigating nonverbal aptitude tests, the most commonly mentioned tests are the NNAT, the Wechsler Battery, and the CogAT. The biggest difference between the three is that the NNAT is the only one of the three that is comprised exclusively of nonverbal components, whereas the CogAT and the Wechsler battery both have verbal and quantitative elements that help to comprise the test (Lakin, 2012;Wechsler, 2003). Giessman et al (2013) analyzed data from one particular mid-Western school district to gauge the NNAT2 and the Cognitive Ability Test 6 (CogAT6) to predict the score a student would achieve on the WISC-IV, or one of the Wechsler batteries for assessing student intelligence.…”