Assessing Bilingual Children in Context: An

Children who are learning a second language and are referred for psychological assessment frequently present with unique personal backgrounds. They may have relocated from a Syrian refugee camp, immigrated from Mexico to escape poverty, or grown up navigating two languages spoken by biracial parents. Their individual histories can have long-term effects on learning, behavior, and social-emotional development.

This book was written to inform clinicians and educators working with youth who demonstrate variability in knowledge and fluency in either one or both of their two languages. It explores the influence of experiences like poverty and immigration on the biological processes of second-language acquisition, looks at the effects of cross-language transfer, discusses international and multicultural complexities critical to understanding the bilingual child, and examines the biological and neurological bases of second-language acquisition.

The authors expertly synthesize this material, offering a set of guidelines for assessment. In addition to case studies that illustrate the application of the principles discussed, they provide concise graphic tools, such as checklists and charts, to provide readers with a succinct point of reference.

This is not a book about tests. Rather, it is a book about children and the complexity of evaluating their functioning when they are acquiring a second language, written for the professionals who wish to help by gaining a complete understanding of the contexts that shape them.

Amanda B. Clinton, PhD, is an associate professor of psychology at the University of Puerto Rico, where her work focuses on neuropsychology, dual language learning, and social–emotional skill development within a cultural framework. She earned her MEd at the University of Washington and her PhD at the University of Georgia. She is a credentialed school psychologist and a licensed psychologist.

As a Fulbright Scholar in Medellín, Colombia, Dr. Clinton researched relationships between language structure and reading acquisition processes. Dr. Clinton has worked with second language learners from various regions of the world, including Central and South America as well as the United States, and has published and presented her work nationally and internationally.

Contributors

Series Foreword

Introduction
Amanda B. Clinton

Challenges and Complexities in the Assessment of the Bilingual Student
Elizabeth C. O'Bryon

I. Insights From Neuroscience and Cognitive Psychology on Cross-Language Transfer

Cross-Language Transfer in Bilingual Students
Yanling Zhou, Xiuhong Tong, Jianhong Mo, and Catherine McBride-Chang
Neuropsychological Considerations in Bilingual Assessment: The Underlying Basis of Language Disability
Rachel W. Robillard
Implications of Semilingualism for Assessment of the Bilingual Child
Amanda B. Clinton, Wanda R. Ortiz, and Korah La Serna Guilar

II. Practical Implications for Assessment

Integrated Intellectual Assessment of the Bilingual Student
Pedro Olvera and Lino Gómez-Cerrillo
Response to Intervention and Bilingual Learners: Promises and Potential Problems
Catherine Christo, Erin Crosby, and Michelle Zozaya
Integrated Social–Emotional Assessment of the Bilingual Child
Michael R. Hass and Kelly S. Kennedy

III. A New Vision: Integrating Concepts in Bilingual Assessment

Acculturation and Sociocognitive Factors
Patricio A. Romero and Jennifer Branscome
Assessing Bilingual Students' Writing
Jill Fitzgerald, Carol B. Olson, Sandra G. Garcia, and Robin C. Scarcella
Implications of Bilingualism for Reading Assessment
Sharolyn D. Pollard-Durodola, Elsa Cárdenas-Hagan, and Fuhui Tong
An Integrated Approach to the Assessment of the Refugee Student
Karen Lee Seymour

Afterword
Amanda B. Clinton

Index

About the Editor

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Assessing Bilingual Children in Context: An Integrated Approach

Summary

Author Biography

Table of Contents

Supplemental Materials