This module explains that the administrator must be able to “see” that the child has a disability, based on the data and examples included in the evaluation. Read More
Category: Normative/Standardization Sample
These terms are basically synonyms. Standardization sample is the term more frequently used in statistics and normative sample is more common within psychometrics. The individuals participating in the standardization study (i.e., standardization sample) take the test or measure to be normed during test development. The resulting scores/performances determine what is considered normal or typically developing performance for that test. Most commercially available tests use a standardization sample that reflects the most recent U.S. census information. This means minorities and culturally or linguistically diverse children are present only in small numbers.
Law and Policy: Guidelines for NYSED Preschool Evaluations June 2013
Guidelines for NYSED preschool evaluations.pdf
This memo outlines current issues in the speech and language evaluation process in New York. Read More
Relevant Research: Recommending Intervention for Toddlers With Specific Language Learning Difficulties: We May Not Have All the Answers, But We Know a Lot
Source URL: View this document on the ASHA website
This review analyzed the literature available at the time in order to compile characteristics that would enable early intervention (EI) providers to distinguish between children who are “late talkers” but will likely catch up to their peers without therapy (as the majority do) and those who truly have a language disorder.
Relevant Research: Selection of Preschool Language Tests: A Data-Based Approach
Source URL: View this document on the ASHA website
This article demonstrated that despite the 10 years that had passed between the publication of McCauley and Swisher (1984) and this article, the vast majority of commercially available norm-referenced tests did not provide psychometric measures deemed necessary in order to establish a test as valid.
Relevant Research: Psychometric Review of Language and Articulation Tests for Preschool Children
Source URL: View this document on the ASHA website
This was one of the first of many articles publishing research demonstrating the severe limitations of using commercially available child language tests when assessing children for speech and language disability. Read More
Research Text: Meaningful Differences in the Everyday Experience of Young American Children
Source URL: View this book on the Brookes Publishing website
Researchers recorded all interactions between caregivers and children, from age 7 months to 3 years old, in different socioeconomic classes for 1 hour per week. This study presented the findings and implications for clinicians, educators, and policy makers.
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. Read More
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. As a result, minorities are overrepresented in special education programs (IDEA 2004). Read More
