1. Normative-Based Testing Options and Procedures
Norms
Normative-Based Testing Options and Procedures

2. ELL Testing
Concepts to Consider

3. 2004 IDEA Regs. Eligibility team should…
“Draw upon information from a variety of sources, including aptitude and achievement tests, parent input, and teacher recommendations, as well as information about the child's physical condition, social or cultural background, and adaptive behavior”

4. Assessment Balance
Observation
Testing
Background Review

5. Factors To Consider In Assessment
Current grade of the student?
Current and previous types of educational programs?
Students language proficiency in both L1 and L2 (and L3 if applicable)?
Was child appropriately placed (or not) as in an ELL program?

6. Review Data in School Records
What is family history/ background?
Need to get information from the family
What is child’s educational background?
Has the child progressed while in the U.S. academically?
How did he/she do before arriving in U.S.
What might have been overlooked by the referral team?

7. Evaluation Procedures
Measure the need for SPED services not the need for bilingual education services.
Psychologists conduct informal and formal language assessments and differentiate between a language disorder from second language acquisition.
Must evaluate if the primary cause meets one of the exclusionary clauses (not just check the boxes)
Choose the appropriate modality to test (formal/ informal; L1/L2/ Nonverbal/ Bilingual)

8. Bilingual Assessment
Is not in L1 or L2 but in both languages simultaneously
Requires knowledge of
Examinee’s Culture
Non discriminatory assessment
Fluency in L1 and L2

9. MAMBI
MAMBI = Multidimensional assessment model for bilingual individuals
This model Guides choices of assessments looking at all factors of consideration.
Developed by Rhodes, Ochoa, & Ortiz (2005).

10. Language Profiles Profile L1 Proficiency L2 Proficiency Description 1
Minimal
CALP L1 = 1-2 and CALP L2 = 1-2 2
Emergent
CALP L1 = 3 and CALP L2 = 1-2 3
Fluent
CALP L1 = 4-5 and CALP L2 = 1-2 4
CALP L1 = 1-2 and CALP L2 = 3 5
CALP L1 = 3 and CALP L2 = 3 6
CALP L1 = 4-5 and CALP L2 = 3 7
CALP L1 = 1-2 and CALP L2 = 4-5 8
CALP L1 = 3 and CALP L2 = 4-5 9
CALP L1 = 4-5 and CALP L2 = 4-5

11. ESOL/ ESL Services Only
MAMBI
ESOL/ ESL Services Only
Grades: K-4
Grades: 5-7
Language Profile NV L1 L2 BL
1: L1 = 1/ L2 = 1  
2: L1 =3 / L2 = 1
3: L1 = 5 /L2 = 1
4: L1 = 1/ L2 = 3
5: L1 = 3/ L2 = 3
6: L1 = 1/ L2 = 5
9: L1 = 5/ L2 = 5
= Priority Testing Modality Providing the Most Sound Data
 = Secondary Mode Providing Some Additional Information of Use

12. Psychoeducational Assessment Issues
Examine individual referrals w/in the context of the systemic patterns of how diverse students are treated at that school.
Acknowledge the impact of second language/culture acquisition on the cognitive and socio-emotional development
Select and administer tests so as to not discriminate on racial or cultural bias.
Understand the limitations and pitfalls associated with the prescribed use of standardized instruments not normed or validated with the population being served.
Able to adapt existing assessment tools when necessary and report any deviations from standardization.

13. ELLL
Psychometric Issues

14. 2004 IDEA regs. . . Assessments should be …
“selected and administered so as not to be discriminatory on a racial or cultural basis
provided and administered in the child's native language or other mode of communication and in the form most likely to yield
used for the purposes for which the assessments or measures are valid and reliable
administered by trained and knowledgeable personnel”

15. Validity and Tests
“When a child’s general background experiences differ from those of the children on whom a test was standardized, then the use of the norms of that test as an index for evaluation that child’s current performance or for predicting future performances may be inappropriate” (Salvia and Ysseldke, 1991).

16. Test bias . . .
Test bias: when one group systematically performs differently from another group on an instrument.
Early test developers felt that the reason that certain culturally groups did worse on certain tests was due to deficits in the cultural group and not problems with the tests.
Test bias relates more to the validity of a test’s scores and not the reliability of the scores.
Test is “culturally loaded” test contains culturally specific elements and expects a certain level of acculturation to do well.

17. Bias in testing stems from…
Cultural content embedded in the test
Linguistic demands inherent in any give test
Lack of representation within norm samples
Changing normative standards to accommodate perceived language needs (translating the test)
Changing normative standards resulting in a change within the developmental nature of the tests (items go from easier to harder)

18. Developmental Nature of Test Items
Test are Developmental/ incremental (easy to Hard)
Learning English may have begun at a different developmental point for ELL.
Students may juggle knowledge b/w L1 and L2 instead of being able to know just one language well.
Students may have received fewer overall hours of exposure to English language than native English speaker.
Example:
English Spanish
Car Coche
Their Su

19. Verbal/Nonverbal Bias
Bias in nonverbal tests may occur if the instructions are in English only
Nonverbal tests not normed using stratified acculturation and Language are still biased.
Bias in many tests are revealed more in the verbal tasks than in the nonverbal ones.
May be due to learning styles of demonstration, sample, doing instead of Socratic method
May be due to L1 and L2 differences

20. Normative Stratification
Stratification in the norm using race does not equate to stratification based on culture.
There are currently no tests that stratify based on acculturation.
There are currently no tests that stratify based on amount of time exposed to English.

21. Test Validity
If a test is biased, whatever the reason, you may be testing something other than the construct that you want to examine.
IQ and Achievement tests should measure IQ and Achievement and NOT English Language proficiency!!!

22. Culture-Language Interpretive Matrix (C-LIM)
Low
Mod.
High
Performance
Least
Affected
Increasing effect of Language Diff.
Mod
Increasing Effect of Cultural Diff.
Performance Most Affected (lang. and Culture)
Kranzler, Flores, & Kody, 2010: Although it makes sense to do it this way
current research does not exactly support it. More research is needed.

23. Normative Assessments
Cognitive

24. IQ and Culture
Scarr (1978): “intelligence tests are not tests of intelligence in some abstract, culture-free way. They are measures of the ability to function intellectually by virtue of knowledge and skills in the culture of which they sample.”
Sample here may be the normative sample; however it may also be the items chosen to be administered as well.

25. 1996: Most common Tests for Bilinguals
WISC (mostly done in all English)
Bender Visual-Motor Gestalt
Draw-a-Person
Leiter

26. Nonverbal Assessment Conducted PRIMARILY nonverbally
UNIT
Leiter-R
C-TONI
Nonverbal DAS-2
Nonverbal SB-5
Nonverbal KABC-2
May still require some minimal amount of knowledge using receptive language.

27. Native Language Assessment
Most non-English Normative measures are in Spanish only.
Normative Examples Include:
Batería-III – Spanish Version
WISC-IV: Spanish Version
DIAL-3 (has a small cognitive component)
CBM: DIBELS has a Spanish Version

28. Bilingual Assessment
Child can Receive Points for answers in EACH language
Examples Include:
BVAT
Some subtests on the KABC-II

29. Culture-Language Interpretive Matrix (C-LIM)
Low
Mod.
High
Performance
Least
Affected
Increasing effect of Language Diff.
Mod
Increasing Effect of Cultural Diff.
Performance Most Affected (lang. and Culture)
Kranzler, Flores, & Kody, 2010: Although it makes sense to do it this way
current research does not exactly support it. More research is needed.

30. Normative Assessments
Achievement

31. Normative-based Achievement Assumptions
Student is like the normative sample.
Student has had opportunity to learn
Content measured
Language used by the test
Skills demanded of the test
Test is measuring ability and not experience

32. Native Language Achievement
Most non-English Normative measures are in Spanish only.
Normative Examples Include:
Batería-III
Bracken Basic Concept Scale: Spanish Version
PPVT/TVIP
YCAT/PHAI
DIAL-3 (more of a screener)
CBM: DIBELS has a Spanish Version

33. Bilingual Assessment Achievement
Child can Receive Points for answers in EACH language
Examples Include:
ROWPVT-SBE
EOWPVT-SBE

34. Nonverbal Achievement
There are no strictly non-verbal achievement tests.
Many times the math computation subtests are so similar from one language to another as to be almost nonverbal.

35. Non-English and Non-Spanish Achievement Assessment
Normative assessment in achievement is pretty much not possible.
Informal methods or CBM methods should be utilized in combination with parent/ teacher interviews, class observations, and child interviews.

36. Native Language Social/ Emotional/Adaptive
Most non-English Normative measures are Spanish translations only.
Normative Examples Include:
BASC- Spanish Translation
Vineland- Spanish Translation
Conners- Spanish Translation
Beck Depression Inventory – Spanish Translation
These tests are only translated into Spanish. They do not include normative data for this population.

37. ELL Normative Testing
Facts to Review

38. Standards for Testing Individuals of Diverse Language Backgrounds
Testing practice designed to reduce threats to reliability and validity.
Language proficiency should be determined prior to test administration.
Language proficiency should be evaluated across different language tasks.
Any linguistic modifications recommended by test publishers should be in the test manual

39. Standards for Testing Individuals of Diverse Language Backgrounds
When a test is recommended for this population, then developers should provide the info needed for test use and interpretation.
When translating a test, describe methods used in establishing the adequacy of the translation and evidence for reliability and validity data for the translated test’s scores.
When an interpreter is used in testing, the interpreter should be fluent in both languages, should have expertise in translating, and should have a basic understanding of the assessment process.