Using Cultural Assets to Enhance Assessment of Latino Students

• DOI: 10.1007/s40688-014-0041-7
• Publication Date: 2014-11-14T22:25:22Z
• Authors: Joaquin S. Aganza; Armando Godinez; Deidra Smith; Liliana G. Gonzalez; Carol Robinson-Za...
• Keywords: Educational Psychology; Cornerstone

In assessment of Latino and other bilingual-bicultural students, culture and language are rarely seen as central; in contrast, they are often seen as peripheral. School psychologists infrequently consider the culture of the student to be integral to their assessment and seldom consider it as a source of learning-related assets. However, when the school psychologist identifies a student’s cultural assets, those assets inform hypotheses and can lead to the development of culturally consistent interventions. Cultural assets, the valuable skills, attitudes, and experiences emerging from the culture of the student, become a cornerstone in the construction of a strength-based assessment. This article describes the assessment and use of cultural assets in records review, interview, observation, testing, and intervention development in the context of an ecosystemic approach. The Cultural Assets Identifier (CAI) is presented as a useful tool to assist the school psychologist in the identification and application of cultural assets to assessment and intervention with Latino youth.