evaluating students with visual impairments, but
all guidelines must reflect the federal regulations
under the Individuals with Disabilities Educational
Act. Furthermore, specific best practice guidelines when conducting assessments have been
developed by the American Educational Research Association, The Council on Testing
Measurements and the American Psychological
Association to address the testing of bilingual students.
Below are the steps that I usually follow as
a diagnostician and guidelines that I recommend
when assessing students with visual impairment
who are from CLDB:
Identify students whose evaluations are due that
school year.
Immediately seek out the diagnostician/Licensed
Specialist in School Psychology (LSSP) or the
TVIs for the school where the student will be
attending.
Set up a meeting with that diagnostician/LSSP or
TVI to review the student's case and determine whether or not another formal Learning
Media Assessment (LMA)/Functional Vision
Assessment (FVA) is needed prior to any other
testing.
During this meeting, review the Language Proficiency Assessment Committee (LPAC) folder.
This folder will inform the evaluator as the TVI
as to the home language and language dominance of the student to be assessed.
Once the LPAC folder has been reviewed, decide
if the student requires a foreign language interpreter to assist with testing or if the evaluator
speaks the language of the student then a decision as to what assessments will be given in
terms of the availability of testing instruments
in the student's dominant language.
Interview the parent/caregiver, the student, the
student's classroom teacher, and observe the
student in multiple settings.
21
