The Accuracy of a Spanish Dynamic Assessment of Narrative Language in Identifying Language Disorder: A Cross Validation Study

• Main Author: Romero, Mariah Forbush
• Format: Others
• Published: BYU ScholarsArchive 2019
• Subjects: dynamic assessment; language disorder; school-age children; narratives
• Online Access: https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/etd/8271; https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=9271&context=etd

This cross-validation study investigated the extent that a Spanish narrative language dynamic assessment accurately identified students with and without language disorder across three separate samples of bilingual and monolingual Spanish-speaking students from Guatemala, Mexico, and the U.S. Students with language disorder and students with typically developing language were administered a narrative dynamic assessment in Spanish. A test-teach-retest format of dynamic assessment was followed and student modifiability, or learning ability, was rated directly following the teaching phase of the assessment. Results indicated that the most predictive dynamic assessment variables for the Guatemalan sample were posttest scores combined with two separate modifiability measures (i.e., total modifiability scores and modifiability final judgment scores). These same variables were applied in the cross-validation classification analyses of the Mexico and U.S. samples with good classification accuracy achieved. The results of this study indicate that a Spanish narrative dynamic assessment may be a culturally appropriate diagnostic tool in identifying Spanish-speaking students with language disorder.