QUESTIONS
AND ANSWERS
Why
must a dual language assessment be conducted?
Public Law 105-17 (IDEA),
formerly P.L. 94-142, mandates that a student
be tested in his or her native (dominant)
language to provide the most descriptive
and fair assessment results. Since the students
tested are not part of normative populations
for standardized instruments, many factors
must be considered when interpreting assessment
results. The dual language assessment (DLA)
provides expertise regarding expected second
language learning and helps determine whether
or not concerns are due to normal second
language acquisition processes or if they
may signal other areas of concern that warrant
consideration for further assessment.
When parents, physicians, or school staff professionals
present concerns to the Preschool Child Find
Committee about CLD preschool students, a DLA
specialist or an ESOL representative collaborates
during the child study and local screening
committee meetings to explore linguistic and
cultural variables that need to be considered.
top
of page
Who
needs a dual language assessment?
All limited English proficient (LEP) students who are being considered for special education must have been previously considered for a dual language assessment by the dual language assessment services staff. In FCPS, LEP students consist of those with VDOE LEP Levels 1, 2, 3, 4 or with LEP Monitor year one or two status (formerly known as ESOL Levels LA, A, B1, B2, or B3). The referring source should contact the dual language assessment services staff to determine the appropriateness of a dual language assessment and to initiate consideration for such assessment.
For preschool-age LEP children, a DLA specialist
or an ESOL teacher participates in the Preschool
Child Find child study and/or local screening
committee meetings. During these collaborative
meetings, language and
cultural variables that should be considered
before further testing is recommended.
LEP stududents who are due for reevaluations and transitioning
preschool class-based or home-resource students
may need dual language assessments before further
testing is initiated. When a previously administered
dual language assessment has determined that
the student undergoing reevaluation is English-dominant,
a second dual language assessment is not needed
as long as the LEP student in question has
remained in an English-speaking educational
environment since the first dual language assessment
was conducted. Upon request, the dual language
assessment services staff will provide a waiver
letter explaining why the dual language assessment
is not required in these cases.
The dual language assessment may vary in form
and content from student to student according
to individual needs and backgrounds. While
the majority of LEP students require complete
dual language assessments, some cases may only
require language dominance confirmation; others
may require only first language analyses; and
a few cases may only require telephone consultations
or waivers. Since many variables affect whether
or not a dual language assessment is needed
and which type of assessment is necessary,
any questions or concerns should be discussed
with a DLA teacher.
top
of page
What
is the purpose of a dual language assessment?
A dual language assessment
is a prereferral procedure conducted by the
dual language assessment services staff to:
- Determine home language
proficiency and skills.
- Establish English proficiency
and skills within the second language acquisition
continuum.
- Identify dominant language(s),
if any, for the purpose of further evaluation
and assessment, if needed.
- Address referral concerns,
using second language acquisition research
and an ESOL perspective.
- Recommend effective
classroom strategies and interventions
when needed.
The dual language assessment
reports provide information that will help the
school determine appropriate interventions. Reports
include suggestions for effective strategies
and instructional programs or approaches to meet
the needs of the LEP student. The report may
also confirm the need to consider further testing.
Subsequently, dual language assessment results
help the local screening committee determine
if special education evaluation should be initiated
and in what language(s) further assessment should
be conducted.
top
of page
When
should a dual language assessment be
requested?
The dual language assessment
should be requested only after a variety
of interventions, instructional strategies,
and program options have been explored, attempted,
implemented, and documented. Steps 1 through
4 of the CLiDES process (see flowchart) must
have been completed before the school team
requests consideration of a dual language
assessment. The DLA is a prereferral procedure
and the final step that must be completed
before eligibility time lines begin. Thus,
the dual language assessment report helps
the school determine the need for further
action and identifies the appropriate language
for testing, if assessment is indicated.
The school must send a
parental notification form to the parent
or primary caregiver informing him or her
that a dual language assessment has been
requested.
top
of page
Who
should request a dual language assessment?
While individual teachers,
counselors, administrators, other school
personnel, parents, or primary caregivers
may request consideration for a dual language
assessment, referrals must show evidence
that the school has followed the prereferral
procedures outlined in the CLiDES flowchart and in FCPS Regulation 2217.2. The process
requires that a group of educators or a team
at the school level discuss concerns and
that a consensus on the need for a dual language
assessment be reached after other interventions
have been systematically implemented. The
members of an in-school problem-solving team,
including the referring source(s) and an
ESOL or a DLA teacher, is best able to initiate
consideration for a dual language assessment
and serve as a contact for the dual language
assessment services staff.
top
of page
What
documentation is needed to request
a dual language assessment or consideration
for a waiver?
The following steps should
be followed:
I. REQUESTING CONSIDERATION
FOR A DUAL LANGUAGE ASSESSMENT
To refer an LEP student for a dual language
assessment (DLA), the following should be completed,
along with a Multi-Purpose Referral form (describing
interventions attempted or implemented) and
sent to dual language assessment services at
the ESOL Assessment Center at Devonshire:
1. CLD Student Data Checklist (CLiDES Handbook)
2. Copy of previous dual
language assessment report or waiver, if
available. In some cases, a second DLA will
not be necessary and a waiver can be considered.
If the student is currently
in an ESOL school and/or still is in ESOL,
also include the:
3. ESOL Assessment Summary,
to be completed by the ESOL teacher (CLiDES
Handbook)
Once the dual language assessment is completed,
the report and all the supporting materials
listed above are sent back to the school’s
local screening committee chairperson. The
local screening committee and the eligibility
committee should review the DLA report along
with other referral materials.
II. REQUESTING CONSIDERATION
FOR A DUAL LANGUAGE ASSESSMENT FOR REEVALUATIONS
For transitioning preschool students and other
reevaluations, the Notice and Consent for Evaluation
form or the Reevaluation Report form may be
sent in lieu of a Multipurpose Referral form.
The deadline for the DLA report or any other
time constraints relevant to the case should
be clearly indicated.
For reevaluations, the following should be
included along with a Multipurpose Referral
form, Notice and Consent for Evaluation form
or the Reevaluation Report form:
1. CLD Student Data Checklist (CLiDES Handbook)
2. Copy of previous dual language assessment
report or waiver, if available
If the student receives ESOL in addition to
special education services, also include the:
3. ESOL Assessment Summary, to be completed
by the ESOL teacher (CLiDES Handbook)
For transitioning preschoolers, the following
should be included along with a Multipurpose
Referral form, an IEP form, or a Local Screening
Committee form:
A completed Culturally and Linguistically Diverse
Preschool Student Data form instead of the
CLD Student Data Checklist.
Copy of previous dual language
assessment report or waiver, if available,
or record of prior collaboration with DLA
or ESOL representative.
III. REQUESTING CONSIDERATION
FOR A DUAL LANGUAGE ASSESSMENT WAIVER
In some cases, a DLA waiver may be appropriate.
In general, the DLA staff members consider
waivers when the school has already determined
that further eligibility testing will be carried
out and the language proficiency of the student
is clearly evident. One example warranting
consideration for a waiver would be a newly
arrived LEP student with an obvious or documented
disability who clearly has little or no English
skills. Another possible waiver would be for
a language minority student with an obvious
or documented disability for whom English is
clearly the dominant language (e.g., adopted
for many years; someone whose exposure to the
first language has been very limited and does
not qualify as an LEP student). In some cases,
students who have undergone a DLA in the past
may also be available for a waiver.
Although each referral is reviewed individually,
LEP students usually do not qualify for waivers
for two reasons:
The student's language dominance must be established
before further testing is completed.
The DLA can help the school
in determining whether the student's academic
difficulties are due to learning English
or whether these difficulties fall outside
the normal range of the second language acquisition
continuum.
For a waiver of the dual
language assessment to be considered, the
documents listed above (e.g., the Multipurpose
Referral form, the CLD Student Data Checklist,
etc.) are still needed, since the decision
to provide a waiver is dependent on the individual
student's medical, language, and educational
history. However, the Multipurpose Referral
form should include the specific reasons
for the waiver request.
top
of page
What
are the components of a dual language
assessment?
The dual language assessment
consists of a variety of formal, standardized
assessment instruments and alternative measures.
Tests are administered in both English and
the student's home language, either by a
bilingual dual language assessment teacher
or with the help of a trained interpreter.
A report is submitted to the school's local
screening committee chairperson usually within
three weeks of the receipt of the complete
referral.
Each DLA is tailored to the specific student
according to his or her age, grade level, length
of time in the United States or in English-speaking
schools, and the concerns stated in the referral.
The assessment explores academic areas that
tap into both language and higher-level thinking
skills. The assessment can include evaluating
the student’s receptive and expressive
vocabulary, oral communicative ability, reading
comprehension, story retelling ability, and
writing skills, among other domains. The length
of the DLA varies depending on the literacy
level of each individual student.
Formal assessment instruments include:
Peabody Picture Vocabulary
Test
Expressive One-Word Picture Vocabulary Test
Bilingual Syntax Measures I and II
Brigance Assessment of Basic Skills
Qualitative Reading Inventory (QRI)
Degrees of Reading Power Test (DRP)
Developmental Reading Assessment (DRA)
Performance-based assessments
include:
Story retelling
Writing sample
Behavioral observations
Readiness tasks
top
of page
What program
options are open for LEP students once
they are found eligible for special education?
Once the LEP student is
found eligible for special education services,
the school team, including an ESOL teacher
or someone with second language acquisition
expertise, should determine the appropriate
instructional program or combination of programs
to address the student's academic, social,
and second language needs.
The school's IEP team members must review the
CLD student's academic history, ESOL assessment
summary, and all other pertinent information
to jointly determine the appropriate services
for that student. A range of options is available:
ESOL and special education services: In most
cases, the exceptional LEP student receives
both ESOL and special education services. Typically,
the LEP student continues participating in
ESOL at the same level; some students may be
placed at a higher or lower ESOL level as needed.
For example, high school students in ESOL B1
(intermediate) customarily receive two periods
of ESOL daily. However, the IEP team may agree
that a particular exceptional B1 student will
receive only one period of B1 ESOL or even
one period at the A level, provided the specific
academic and language needs of that student
can be addressed within that level. Thus, there
is greater flexibility within the ESOL options
than is commonly available to nonexceptional
LEP students. Creative scheduling is successfully
implemented at many FCPS schools.
Itinerant ESOL and special
education service: Some exceptional ESOL
students have disabilities that prohibit
their participation in regular ESOL classes.
Students with greater needs may require much
lower teacher-student ratios than are available
in the ESOL classrooms. Also, there may be
students whose disabilities mandate that
they attend a special education center or
school where there is no established ESOL
program. In some of these cases, the ESOL
program will provide an itinerant ESOL and
special education teacher to work with a
particular student, either in the special
education classroom, on a pullout basis,
or using a combination of both services.
For more information, schools should contact
the ESOL central office staff at (703) 846-8632.
For some students, the
IEP team, including the ESOL teacher or representative,
may determine that ESOL will no longer be
a necessary part of the exceptional LEP student's
curriculum. This decision should be made
on a student-by-student basis and should
be the exception rather than the rule. Most
students who qualify for ESOL and another
service, such as special education, should
receive both services simultaneously. To
consider withdrawing a student from the ESOL
program even though he or she remains limited
English proficient, the committee should
carefully review the student's ESOL history,
ESOL progress records, and the assistance
that might be provided instead of ESOL.
To withdraw a student from an ESOL program
while he or she is still eligible, an appropriate
alternative assistance (AA) form must be completed
and signed by all IEP team members. At a minimum,
the committee must include an ESOL teacher,
a classroom/content teacher, a representative
from the "alternative assistance" program
being proposed, and an administrator or designee.
The AA form, indicating rationale and alternative
programs that will be provided to the student,
must then be submitted to the ESOL office for
review and approval before the ESOL student
is taken out of the ESOL program.
In all cases, the collaboration of general
education, ESOL, and special education teachers
is necessary to explore, consider, and determine
the best program or combination of programs
for CLD students.
top of page
Contact:
Rebecca Miskell, Dual Language Assessment
Team
Leader Phone: (703) 876-5294
Fax: (703) 208-8019
Email: Rebecca.Miskell@fcps.edu
Return to DLA Home Page
Last
Updated
Instructional
Services Department