Bilingual Language Assessment: Contemporary Versus Recommended Practice in American Schools

Abstract

The findings of this study demonstrated that although SLPs have become more compliant to ASHA and IDEA guidelines, there is room for improvement in terms of adequate training in bilingual language assessment.

Performance of Low-Income Dual Language Learners Attending English-Only Schools on the Clinical Evaluation of Language Fundamentals–Fourth Edition, Spanish

“…Although significant advances have been made in the last 20 years to establish appropriate assessment practices for Spanish-speaking dual language learners (DLLs; Bedore & Leonard, 2001, 2005Bedore & Peña, 2008;Bedore et al, 2012;Gutiérrez-Clellen, Restrepo, & Simón-Cereijido, 2006;Restrepo, 1998), we still have limited information regarding the validity of available standardized language tests designed to identify Spanishspeaking children with language disorders (Dollaghan & Horner, 2011). The CELF-4S is the most widely used standardized test among clinicians and researchers who work with school-age Spanish-English DLLs in the United States (Arias & Friberg, 2016;Crowley, 2010). However, independent researchers have not yet examined the validity of this measure with populations with multiple risk factors, such as low socioeconomic status (SES), low parental education, and subtractive language environments (i.e., social environment that favors the acquisition of the dominant language, while slowing or reversing the development of the native language [Wright, Taylor, & Macarthur, 2000]).…”

Selected Myths in Relation to Bilingualism

“…Výsledky těchto "nezdařených" transferů by opět neměly být považovány za patologii jazykového vývoje. (ASHA, 2017) Klinický logoped by měl být schopen odlišit vývojovou poruchu řeči od vývoje přirozeného, ovšem specifického pro dítě bilingvní (Arias, Friberg, 2017).…”

Speech-language pathologists as determiners of the human right to diversity in communication for school children in the US

“…In determining the presence of a disability, it is imperative that SLPs understand that children from CLD backgrounds are often unaccustomed to the culture of standardised testing which fails to take into account bilingual language development and relies on mainstream cultural knowledge (Munoz, White, & Horton-Ikard, 2014). This can negatively impact standardised testing scores, increasing the risk for the misdiagnosis of a communication impairment (Arias & Friberg, 2017;Kapantzoglou, Restrepo, & Thompson, 2012).…”

“…The primary purpose of administering a standardised test is to determine if a child is significantly different from her peers (Paul & Norbury, 2012). However, content bias, linguistic bias, and disproportionate representation in sampling in standardised tests have been well documented (Arias & Friberg, 2017;Caesar & Kohler, 2007;Laing & Kamhi, 2003). In determining the presence of a disability, it is imperative that SLPs understand that children from CLD backgrounds are often unaccustomed to the culture of standardised testing which fails to take into account bilingual language development and relies on mainstream cultural knowledge (Munoz, White, & Horton-Ikard, 2014).…”

“…Due to the fact language sampling is an informal, criterion-referenced measure, SLPs can use materials that are familiar to the child, which can reduce bias (De Lamo White & Jin, 2011). Language sampling is already a common practice of school-based SLPs in the United States (Arias & Friberg, 2017;Caesar & Kohler, 2009). However, it should be noted that language sampling can be biased if the SLP lacks knowledge about the culture of the child (De Lamo White & Jin, 2011).…”