Convergence of two language assessment measures with ability in school-age Spanish-English bilingual children

Abstract

There is a documented need for appropriate language assessment measures for Spanish-English bilingual school-age children in the United States. The Bilingual English Spanish Assessment- Middle Extension (BESA-ME), the Test of Narrative Language (TNL), and the Test of Narrative Language- Spanish experimental version (Spanish TNL) were administered to 129 children ranging in age from 7;0 to 8;11. Convergence between the measures was examined. The results indicated a strong correlation between measures, as well as significant correlation between each measure and children’s ability level (i.e. classification as typically developing or with language impairment). These results present the BESA-ME and the TNL in Spanish and English as promising tools to assess language impairment in a population that traditionally has been a challenge to evaluate.