As evaluation specialists, we are legally and ethically required to conduct valid and fair assessment of all students, regardless of cultural background or language. When faced with evaluations of culturally and linguistically diverse (CLD) students, we must be prepared to evaluate how their language and culture may impact their performance, and differentiate between this and ability, all while working within the confines of our own language limitations, as well as those of the assessment tools available to us. When bilingual evaluators are available, monolingual evaluators must learn to work with them in completing the evaluations. Although there are no straight paths to guide every assessment, there are steps that can be taken to ensure students are being evaluated in the most fair and nondiscriminatory manner possible.
In this session, participants will discuss topics related to best practices in evaluation CLD students including legal requirements, different assessment models, working with students who speak languages other than Spanish, how to work with your bilingual counterparts, as well as other related topics.