Culturally-Competent Assessments

Culturally competent practice in assessment is essential to improving outcomes for all students. It can reduce the achievement gaps and the disproportionate placement of minority students in special education. Nonverbal cognitive and alternate assessment strategies are strongly recommended by NASP. Alternate assessment strategies such as curriculum-based assessment, test-teach-test and performance monitoring over time should also be conducted.

Despite these recommendations, the field has been unable to develop culture-free intelligence tests. This is due to a myriad of factors, but an underlying explanation is that different cultures value different views of intelligence. As school psychologists, we will be responsible for assessing children from a variety of different cultural and linguistic backgrounds. How do we mitigate the limitations of the test in order to get a more accurate picture of the child's capability? What types of assessment do you plan to use for children from different cultures, socioeconomic statuses, linguistic backgrounds, etc.? How do you plan to address the assessment's limitations in your report?

Posted by Roxane Nassirpour.

Unlocking the Mystery: MISINTERPRETATIONS OF COGNITIVE TESTS...

We can all agree that the interpretation of cognitive test scores mostly leads to decisions concerning the diagnosis, educational placement, and types of interventions used for children. Knowing this fact, it is absolutely necessary for us, as future school psychologists, to administer and score cognitive tests without any errors.

A recent study published in Psychology in the Schools (Graduate students’ administration and scoring errors on the Woodcock-Johnston III Tests of Cognitive Abilities, vol.46, issue 7, pgs. 650-657, July 2009) looked at the frequency and the types of errors that occurred during administration and scoring of Woodcock Johnston III Tests of Cognitive Abilities (WJ III COG). Data from 36 graduate students across 108 test records revealed a total of 500 errors across all records!!!! Three frequently occurring errors included the use of incorrect ceilings, failure to record errors, and failure to encircle the correct row for the total number correct.

Can we avoid making scoring errors on cognitive tests and if so how? Are these errors more likely to occur on WJ III or they happen regardless of the test used? Are we properly trained to administer cognitive tests? Do you think that wrong scores may result in some children being placed in the wrong settings?

And finally…What can our graduate programs do to ensure that we are all properly trained to administer cognitive tests?

Posted by Tjasa Korda.