Understanding Assessment: Effects of Cultural Bias on Childhood Development
A lack of culturally or linguistically sensitive assessments and/or evaluators can lead to high rates of disproportionality in referrals to special services.
Understanding Assessment: Understanding the Normal Distribution
A normal distribution, also called a bell curve, occurs when variables (i.e., test scores) plotted on a graph fall into a regular distribution around a single mean. In a normal distribution, about 96% of the scores will fall within 2 standard deviations of the mean.
Understanding Assessment: How Does Linguistic Bias Affect Language Evaluations?
Linguistic bias can be bias towards speakers of other languages or dialects, or towards bilingual speakers and results in inaccurate assessment of children from linguistic backgrounds other than Standard American English.
Understanding Assessment: Standard Deviation
A standard deviation (SD) is a quantity derived from the distribution of scores from a normative sample and can be defined as the average distance (or deviation) from the mean.
Understanding Assessment: Assessment Materials- Dynamic vs. Static Assessment
A variety of assessment materials and procedures, including both static and dynamic assessments and language samples, are frequently used in speech and language as well as psychoeducational evaluations.
Understanding Assessment: Understanding the Normative Sample
The terms normative sample and standardization sample refer to the same concept and are often used interchangeably. A norm referenced test uses a normative or standardization sample from the general population to determine what is “typical” or “normal” in that population.
Understanding Assessment: Types of Validity in Testing
Validity refers to the degree to which an item is measuring what it’s actually supposed to be measuring.
Understanding Assessment: Assessment Materials – Parent Interviews
The parent/primary caregiver interview is a necessary part of any quality evaluation and can be used to gain information used in several parts of the evaluation.
Report Writing: Quantification
Even though standardized test scores should not be used to determine or diagnose disability, quantification is required to demonstrate that a child should receive services. It is the evaluator’s job to use his or her clinical judgement to determine percentage of delay if it exists.
Understanding Assessment: The Importance of Clinical Judgement
Clinical judgment is the knowledge an evaluator develops over years of practice and ongoing education about typical language development and second language acquisition in a certain community.
