Conducting Culturally Responsive, Strengths-Based Assessment in Schools

Special education assessment has a significant impact on the lives of children with disabilities and their families. However, traditional assessment practices have been critiqued as being deficit-based, overly focused on "labeling" students, and failing to provide a holistic understanding of the student. Assessment models such as strengths-based assessment (SBA) and culturally responsive assessment (CRA), have potential to address these critiques and be more appropriate for the growingly diverse school population. Despite this, these models of assessment are under studied and there is a lack of clear guidance for how practitioners should implement them. In these manuscripts, CRA and SBA are understood and studied in tandem as CR/SBA due to their significant overlap, similar challenges, and alignment with the National Association of School Psychology's (NASP) practice model. In the first manuscript, the Partnerships as the Path to Implementing Culturally Responsive, Strengths-based Assessment (PATP-CRSBA) implementation guide is presented. The guide is intentionally created to be used in the team-based context of special education evaluation and aligns with the model of school psychological practice that is presented by NASP (2020). A school psychologist (or special education team) can use the PATP-CRSBA to identify ways they can foster family, school, community partnerships (FSCP) to conduct CR/SBA. The second manuscript presents a multiple-case study exploring the perspectives of practicing school psychologists who conduct CR/SBA. Each case presents how participants conceptualize and use CR/SBA in the context of their "real life" practice. Cross-case analysis reveals several themes including finding that CR/SBA is difficult to define and under development; defining features of CR/SBA; CR/SBA practices; barriers, facilitators, and the context of practice; and how CR/SBA is conducted. An initial diagram is presented that illustrates the process school psychologists use to conduct CR/SBA. The contributions of these manuscripts suggest that CR/SBA should be further developed with a focus on refining a model that addresses the critiques of traditional assessment models and can realistically be implemented in practice. Recommendations moving forward include adjustments to training, applying findings to FSCP, studying how training informs assessment, and studying assessment in the context of special education teams. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]