School Psychologists' Perceived Competence and Preparation in Assessment of English Language Learners (ELL) and Future Training Needs

With the increase of culturally and linguistically diverse students in the school population, the need for adequately trained school psychologists in the assessment of English Language Learners (ELLs) has never been more important. The current study examined school psychologists' perceived competence and preparation in assessment of ELLs, and the factors that may impact their perceptions of competence and preparation. In addition, this study examined school psychologists' perceptions of the value of different training experiences related to the assessment of ELLs. A 35-item survey was mailed to 1,000 school psychologists who were randomly selected from the National Association of School Psychologists (NASP) membership database. Participants consisted of 392 individuals who completed and returned the survey for a response rate of 39.2%. The results of this study indicated that the majority of school psychologists' rated themselves as "competent" or higher across a range of competency areas with the exception of their ability to assess a student's first and second language. The majority of school psychologists' reported less than "adequate" training during graduate school for a range of training areas with the exception of identifying potential biases in assessment measures. There were no differences in the effect of region on perceptions of competence and preparation. The majority of respondents reported direct field experience working with ELLs as the most valuable training experience for developing the skills needed to work with ELLs. The majority of respondents rated differentiation between problems that are a result of disabilities, versus problems influenced by learning a second language as the most valuable professional development topic to further develop skills to work with ELLs.