| The purpose of this research was to examine the perceptions of educational diagnosticians regarding the adequacy of their professional training in dynamic, curriculum-based, and discrepancy-model assessment methodologies for English language learners with suspected learning disabilities. Using survey methodology and a snowball sampling technique to gather data, the perceptions were gleaned from the relationships between responses on 14 Likert-type survey items. Participants (n=79) were categorized according to teaching certifications and response counts were cross-tabulated with group membership (only special education; only general education; both special and general education; and both special and bilingual certification).; The frequency distribution of total item statement responses revealed that the majority of participants (80.6%) did not affirm the adequacy of their professional assessment training involving standardized, dynamic, and curriculum-based evaluations for English language learners. In contrast, 18.2% of the participants affirmed the adequacy of their training experiences. The Chi Square Tests of Independence indicated that four of the 14 item statements revealed significant relationships between group membership and the route of educational diagnostician certification. Based on Cramer's V coefficient, the strongest relationships were revealed on item statements #1, #2, #3, and #9. Specifically, university-trained diagnosticians reported inadequate assessment training at a greater rate than diagnosticians prepared through education service centers. |
