This study investigates how state Departments of Education address the needs of culturally and linguistically diverse (CLD) students as they relate to the identification of students with a specific learning disability (SLD). A qualitative research design of directed content analysis was used to examine each state's regulatory criteria for SLD, as…

This article presents a review of the Children's Depression Inventory 2 (CDI 2), published by Multi-Health Systems (MHS) to assess depressive symptoms in 7- to 17-year-old children and adolescents. Given the importance of early diagnosis and treatment (Kovacs & Devlin, 1998), the CDI 2 can assist professionals to pinpoint critical depressive…

The paper explores several issues which effect the accurate assessment of language and reading disorders and, thus, of discrepancy between expected potential and actual achievement. For related information see EC 132 758-768. (Author)

Two studies used a scaling approach to measure components of modifiability in children. Modifiability differentiated between children having low language ability and typically developing children from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds. Furthermore, the individual components of modifiability, with the exception of motivation,…

The Early Development Index (EDI) is a teacher-completed checklist, intended to be a population-level tool to measure children's readiness for school and to alert communities to potential developmental problems in children. In response to the increasing popularity of the EDI, this paper provides a critical and timely evaluation and identifies the…

This article considers the extent to which Child Find procedures discussed in the literature are responsive to families from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds. Discussion of the legal basis for Child Find activities targeting these young children and challenges in early identification of children from diverse backgrounds is…

This document provides guidelines for preferred practice for the Child Identification Process for Colorado children, birth through five years of age. The guidelines were developed to be flexible and adaptable in support of individual community needs and in recognition of the variable resources throughout the state; however, the basic underlying…

This guide from Iowa is intended to: clarify changes in the state's new rules on special education; make the state's definition of mental disability operational; provide practical guidelines on preferred practices for determination of mental disability and the need for special education services; and highlight prescriptive assessment practices…

Narratives of children from different Spanish-speaking backgrounds illustrate that children's atypical narrative performance may reflect individual or cultural differences. It is suggested that static assessments may not differentiate narrative differences from disorders. A dynamic assessment model to predict the child's true language learning…

This article examines how to interpret reading problems among individuals with a home language (L1) that is different from the language of instruction in school (L2). A tentative model is proposed where the various factors involved in L2 reading are specified, providing guidelines for assessment strategies. (Contains references.) (CR)

Discusses cases that reveal the impact of teacher expectations on the accuracy or inaccuracy of self-concepts of children with exceptionalities from minority-group backgrounds. Fifteen teacher beliefs that will benefit new and seasoned practitioners as they identify, assess, place, and instruct minority children are provided. (CR)

Principles of comprehensive assessment of students with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder are examined in relation to legal compliance, special considerations for cultural diversity, medical diagnosis versus educational identification, and the problem-solving assessment model. Strengths and weakness of specific strategies are identified as…

Thirty-five staff members' views on developmental assessment in a multicultural early childhood setting are described and used to initiate a critique of current practice in assessment of young children. Staff expressed a range of opinions from endorsement to frank rejection of the utility, validity, and ethics of developmental assessment.…

A study of 26 Asian-American students with learning disabilities in grades K-5 found that although the district policies reflected desired professional practices, there were no guidelines for documenting how variables such as second-language acquisition, culture, socioeconomic status, and other differences were accommodated. Policy recommendations…

Discusses the inappropriate referral of culturally and linguistically diverse (CLD) students for speech-language therapy. Preassessment considerations that should be considered and the interrelatedness of culture, language, and communication as they impact on an individual learner's behavior are explained. Culturally appropriate assessment…