| Abstract: | Little literature addresses the difficulty of conducting an unbiased assessment of youngsters whose second language is English but who are conversational in English and no longer qualify for English as a Second Language services. Academic difficulty frequently persists, although the children appear functional in English. The use of the Kaufman Assessment Battery for Children (K-ABC) is discussed in relation to the Wechsler Intelligence Scale as a second measure of cognitive ability for youngsters of various linguistic backgrounds. In the cases presented, the use of the K-ABC illustrated that the youngsters had higher cognitive ability than was measured by the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Revised (WISC-R), which in turn guided educational decisions. Additionally, the utility of the K-ABC for assessing youngsters from linguistic backgrounds that may not be adequately represented in the norm sample is suggested. Implications for school psychology practice are discussed. |
