The Dynamics of Assessment: Rethinking Current Practice

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Summary

The purpose of this project was to formally train speech language pathologists (SLPs) district wide in the use of dynamic assessments (DAs). The clinicians were engaged in a professional learning community format within their public-school system over the course of a school year. Similar to the pilot study (Nùñez et al., 2021), this project used a professional learning community (PLC) model in training all SLPs. A need identified in the pilot was for the district to continue moving away from relying on the use of standardized assessments, and toward the use of less biased tools, specifically, DAs. Based on the results of the pilot study, SLPs in the school district did not feel well equipped to complete DAs with students and wanted more training (Nùñez et al., 2021). This project focused on all SLPs in the district and will train all SLPs at the same time.

The SLPS were trained virtually over the course of a school year by Cate Crowley using explicit training with a DA approach meeting both district time and personnel constraints. Information on law, research, and current clinical practices related to assessment were cited from the LEADERSproject database. In addition, many videos, articles, and analyses were used during the professional development sessions with the SLPs.

There were a total of 3 professional development (PD) sessions. The first PD focused on DA research, such as the test–learn–test approach to assessing inferential word learning (Petersen et al., 2020), and graduated prompting on fast word mapping (Horton-Ikard & Weismer, 2007). Video case studies were used to demonstrate each DA task and highlight what to observe in terms of the student's ability to learn from the prompts and support provided by the evaluator. The second sessions was focused on narrative language tasks and language elicitation and analysis using SLAM materials (e.g., Crowley & Baigorri, 2019) and a case study video. The final PLC focused on reviewing the DA concepts presented over the year and application of the material.

This project was implemented during the 2021–2022 school year and was funded by the ASHA multicultural grant. The project findings were published and presented at conferences both at the state and national level. This study can also be used as a pilot program that can be replicated by other school districts that have similar demographics or would like to consider the use of training through the use of a PLC model. Following the training, many SLPs expressed their appreciation for the opportunity to problem-solve and share experiences, noting a shift toward incorporating DA into their own practice. They also recognized the importance of this shift from their traditional assessment practices, acknowledging their efficiency in assessing diverse student populations (i.e., students with intellectual disabilities). An area of growth and future plans include a continuation of DA training to continue to address linguistic and cultural diversity among students on SLPs' caseloads and ensuring that assessment approaches are less biased and more evidence-based.

For More Information

See the LEADERSproject website or contact Giselle Núñez at gnunez6@gmail.com

This initiative was submitted on January 14, 2025.