Chapter 9 - Assessment of the Non-Native English Speaker: Assimilating History and Research Findings to Guide Clinical Practice

Abstract

This chapter describes how to interpret scores when an individual who speaks English as a second language is assessed with English language standardized tests like the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-III (WAIS-III) and Wechsler Memory Scale-III (WMS-III). The need to develop sound methods for the assessment of individuals from non-native English-speaking backgrounds may seem like a recent challenge, stemming from the rapid growth of ethnic/linguistic and immigrant populations. Actually, the concern dates back to the earliest days of cognitive assessment. In some ways, modern-day psychology as a profession has been inattentive to a challenge that initially presented a century ago. To facilitate chances of success with this challenge now and in the future, it is necessary to understand the assumptions, motivations, and the mistakes of the past, and then identify new concepts and methodologies for describing cognition and for considering the roles of language and culture in assessment. The chapter reviews the lengthy history in America of testing individuals from diverse cultural and linguistic backgrounds that reveals how early professionals who lacked empirical guidance approached cognitive testing. The chapter concludes with discussing recent research that examines the role of language and acculturation-related factors to determine their utility in interpreting cognitive test performance.