The Use and Interpretation of the Batería III With U.S. Bilinguals

Abstract

Title: The Use and Interpretation of the Bateria ///with U.S. BilingualsWithin each classroom, many children excel academically while others struggle. Some students' difficulties are such that they require placement into educational programs different from grade level core and perhaps delivered outside of general education classrooms. For many, special education programs are the lifeline to reach their innate potential. For others misplaced into special education, their opportunities may be truncated. For the past 40 years (Dunn, 1968), disproportionate representation of minority children in some disability categories has been a problem. Educators commonly ask "Is a child's difficulties due to language differences or a learning disability?" One key area of confusion relates to the cognitive assessment of English language learner (ELL) students. While it is understandable that scores generated by English cognitive tests will not reflect an ELL child's true abilities, less is known about the appropriate use of native language (Spanish) cognitive assessments. ANOVA and t test analyses indicated both ELL groups scored significantly lower than the normative sample on GIA, short-term memory, long-term retrieval and crystallized intelligence and higher on auditory processing. Thus, the Bateria's scores from these factors may underestimate the abilities of ELL students.