Multicultural Considerations for Choosing a Screening/ Assessment Instrument
by Ernesto M. Bernal, Ph.D., Dean, School of Education, The University of Texas-Pan American, Endinburg, Texas
The following article was submitted by Dr. Ernesto Bernal, who is recognized as an expert in the area of screening and assessment and who demonstrates particular respect for cultural relevance and sensitivity. Dr. Bernal describes three reasons for screening and assessment that provide excellent direction to Head Start: to get to know the children better, to help modify or adapt programs to more closely match the needs of the children, and to help staff work with parents as members of the same team promoting a child's development and learning.
Dr. Bernal also outlines four "rules "for selecting an instrument that are meaningful and practical for Head Start programs: 1) do not make a permanent commitment to an instrument when it is first adopted; 2) select an instrument only after you have read the critical literature about it; 3) try out the instrument with a sampling of children; and 4) review the results after you get to know the children to see if what you know matches what the instrument shows.
In order to introduce multicultural considerations in the selection of screening instruments for Head Start programs, perhaps we should begin by asking why we assess in the first place.
Why We Assess
The first and most important reason to screen and assess has to do with getting to know the children better-to be able to identify their special strengths and special needs as accurately and as validly as possible early in our interaction with them, preferably about the time that they come into the program. It is important, for example, that children with developmental delays quickly be identified and children with outright handicaps be assessed for the severity of their handicaps.
It is particularly important that children's language development be assessed. Tests that do not address language development should be supplemented because they simply will not meet the needs of any Head Start program that serves children who are limited English proficient (LEP) or bilingual. Children who come from homes where languages other than English are spoken should have their proficiency levels assessed in English and, wherever possible, in their native language, since it is quite possible that a seeming deficiency in English can be misinterpreted to be a language deficiency, whereas knowledge about the child's first language proficiency would give a better perspective on the child's overall language ability. Bilingual children whose command of English is inadequate but who are linguistically normal in their first language may not be tested validly if tests require high levels of English comprehension. Screening tests that have Spanish versions may be examined for equivalence for Spanish-speaking children.
The second reason to screen and assess is to adjust our programs to more closely meet the children's needs. Some testing companies can provide summaries of test data if they do the scoring. But in all cases, a screening instrument should lend itself to summarizing the particular strengths and needs-profiles, really-of the children in the program so that the Head Start curriculum can be most effectively focused to enhance learning; that is, to be developmentally appropriate for the particular children in our care.
Yet a third reason why we assess has to do with enlisting parental support for the children. Results should be shared with parents and should be readily understand able by them. More importantly, results should be translated into action plans so that both Head Start staff and parents can better understand what they need to do to promote each child's emotional, physical, and learning needs. Action plans also need to be culturally sensitive. They should not, for example, require that parents stop using the language of the home when communicating with the child.
What Makes an Instrument Useful
Now that we have set this perspective on why we assess, it is important to focus on important questions that are associated with testing.
The first question has to do with the cultural bias of the instrument or the accuracy of the results. Tests that misrepresent the true abilities or conditions of one group or another are said to be biased. Biased instruments do not give accurate or equally interpretable results. If we want a true picture of each child, then we must select screening instruments that are not biased.
What we select should give us a lot of useful information about the individual child, not just a few summary numbers that lump many children into a few categories. The more diverse and accurate information we have about a child, the sooner we will get to know the child and the better we can plan to optimize the child's progress.
As mentioned earlier, it is important that we communicate the results to parents. It frankly is not fair to ask parents to give us permission to test their children and then not share the results with them. Of equal importance, however, is that parents and Head Start staff be able to understand and act upon the information that the screening provides. Numbers too often are a source of confusion to parents so we must be able to translate student profiles into a set of action plans that parents can use to make a better, happier, and more interesting life for their children. The same goes for all of the Head Start staff who are in contact with the child since all have an opportunity to contribute to the child's development and well being.
How To Select an Instrument
To do the best job of selecting an assessment instrument, keep several rules in mind. The first rule is not to make a permanent commitment to a test when you adopt it. Do not be afraid to change your mind if later experience indicates that you should have considered another test or that you made a mistake in selecting the first one. Do not cover up a bad judgment by insisting on using a test that is less than optimal for your setting.
The second rule is to select an instrument only after you have read the critical literature about the instrument and not just the test publisher's brochures. References, such as the Mental Measurements Yearbook (published annually), should be consulted if there is someone on your program's staff who has a good background in psychology or testing. If not, it may be good to get in touch with a local expert who is familiar both with testing. and with the diverse populations served by your program. Often university professors or local psychologists are able to assist in this matter, particularly if they have good credentials in the area of early childhood education. Do not-repeat-do not merely pick up the phone and call a friend who runs a Head Start program a few miles away and adopt the test your friend is using, unless your friend is an expert and can demonstrate the utility of the test employed. Is the test all that it claims it to be? Does it give you the information you want or need on every child? Is there any evidence of test bias for the instrument or, better yet, is there evidence that the test works well for children from the different populations you serve?
The third rule is to try the instrument out. Buy a small number of instruments with the manual, train your staff or have them trained, and actually try the tests with a small group of students-preferably not more than 30-who represent the diversity of your populations. Then try to answer the following questions: How hard is the test to administer, and how much training does it require? Can everyone be easily prepared to use the results meaning fully and not just be administering or scoring? Do children from different ethnic groups seem comfortable taking the test? Does the test give you sufficient data for you to learn about your children when they first arrive? Do parents and staff understand the meaning of the scores? Can you explain accurately the results and discuss differences between children in a valid manner? Can you pick out patterns of needs and strengths for the children in a class? Can you translate results into action plans easily? You should choose what gives you the most positive answers to these questions.
The fourth rule is perhaps the most important rule: review the original screening results after you have gotten to know well the children you originally tested. To get the best and most sensitive multicultural perspective, sit down with your staff and read the original results from the screening after staff have been working with the youngsters for some six or nine months. If the test is weak, the laughs and "oh-boys" and "uh-uhs" will tell you that this is not the instrument for you. If this happens, read rule one again.
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