An investigation of school psychologists' psychoeducational assessment practices with children who are culturally and linguistically diverse and the factors that influence these practices

In the United States, there are increasing numbers of individuals from diverse backgrounds whose native language is other than English. Inappropriate psychoeducational assessment practices have led to an overrepresentation of children who are linguistically and culturally diverse in special education programs (Artiles, A., Rueda, R., Slazar, J., & Hingareda, I. (2005). Within-group diversity in minority special education disproportionate representation: the case of English language learners in California's urban school districts. Exceptional Children, 71, 283-300; Rueda, R., & Windmueller, M. (2005). English language learners, LD, and overrepresentation: A multiple-level analysis. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 39, 99-107). This study examined assessment practices of school psychologists when assessing children who are English Language Learners (ELL), and determined if characteristics of the school psychologists (i.e., self-reported multicultural competencies, beliefs about time needed to develop a second language, etc.) affected their assessment practices when working with children who are ELL.;The participants were 107 school psychologists who were members of NASP. Participants completed a survey that contained two vignettes describing different children. They were asked if they would refer the respective children for evaluation, and to indicate evaluation process for the specified children. Results indicated that participants more frequently endorsed the correct number of years (Cummins, J. (1999). BICS and CALP: Clarifying the Distinction. ED438551.) versus the incorrect number of years it takes children to acquire Basic Interpersonal Communication Skills and Cognitive Academic Language Proficiency. Common barriers encountered included the inability to speak another language, and lack of training in bilingual assessments. Additionally, participants tended to refer the Mexican-born child for an evaluation significantly less often than the American-born child. Referral rates were higher when the child received English-only versus bilingual instruction. Most of the participants' characteristics were not related to the referral rates of the children. However, a significant effect was found between participants living in states with a higher density of children who are ELL, as referral rates were higher than participants living in states with a lower density of children who are ELL. Possible explanations were discussed.