The Clinical Evaluation of Language Fundamentals- Preschool, Second Edition [CELF-P2] Spanish is designed to assess the presence of a language disorder or delay in Spanish speaking students aged 3;0-6;11.
The test contains a variety of tasks designed to aid in determining a student’s diagnosis, strengths and weaknesses, and eligibility for services. However, results obtained from administration of the test are not valid due to lack of information as to how tasks and items were deemed appropriate, and an insufficient reference standard, sensitivity, specificity, and likelihood ratios. Therefore, even if the CELF-P2 Spanish were a valid, reliable and unbiased assessment, it lacks sufficient discriminant accuracy in order to determine the presence or absence of a language disorder. In addition, the test contains many inherent cultural and linguistic biases, rendering it inappropriate for use with bilingual and bicultural children. For example, the test relies heavily on vocabulary, prior knowledge and experience, and exposure to books. Children from lower SES homes and/or diverse cultural and linguistic backgrounds may not perform as well as their peers due to these biases and may be inappropriately identified as having a language disorder. For these reasons, the CELF-P2 Spanish should only be used to probe for information and not to identify a disorder or disability.
