The paper, originally given at a 1986 Ethnic and Multicultural Symposium, emphasizes the need for schools to recognize and understand the impact of culture on student academic and social success. Classroom based assessment and evaluation strategies for use with culturally diverse, behaviorally disordered students are reviewed and discussed. An interventionist approach to assessment and evaluation is suggested to reduce biases and improve educational decision making. It is recommended that psychometrically based, indirect assessment procedures be replaced by curriculum-based practices that focus on the educational process rather than on student performance alone. A prereferral approach to problem identification is offered. Discussion of direct observation assessment methods includes functional analysis, empirical and social validation, communicative function of behavior, and behavioral forms and critical effects. (DB)