A Bilingual (English & Spanish) Psychoeducational Assessment MODEL Grounded in Cattell-Horn Carroll (CHC) Theory: A Cross Battery Approach

Abstract

The Individual with Disabilities Education Act mandates nondiscriminatory assessment for children who are culturally and linguistically diverse. Because of the overrepresentation of English Language Learners (ELL) in special education programs in the United States, the focus of this article is the psychoeducational assessment of Spanish- and English-speaking children who are classified as ELL. This article presents a bilingual assessment model that incorporates Cattell-Horn Carroll (CHC) based instruments. The premise of this model is that a learning disability is manifested in L1 (primary language) and L2 (secondary language). The writers present cognitive assessments that are available in English, Spanish, and nonverbal modalities that utilize CHC as the underlying theory. By incorporating these assessments, the school psychologist is in a better position to analyze L1 and L2 assessment data and gain a clearer understanding of strengths and weaknesses and provide linguistically appropriate interventions.