Review of Assessing culturally and linguistically diverse students: A practical guide.

Reviews the book, Assessing culturally and linguistically diverse students: A practical guide by Robert L. Rhodes, Salvador Hector Ochoa, and Samuel O. Ortiz (see record 2006-12379-000). This book provides school practitioners with a practical guide to the assessment of culturally and linguistically diverse (CLD) children that may help reduce inappropriate referral and placement practices. The book is divided the book into three sections, the first of which focuses on the demographic, legal, and educational issues related to CLD students. The second section takes on a practical, "how to" approach to assessment. The final section proposes an integrated format for assessing cognitive and academic ability. This book is unique in that it provides a practical "how to" handbook of multicultural assessment with the culturally and linguistically diverse learner. The book is well-organized and presented in a logical manner. It begins with a clearly defined problem (i.e., disproportionality of CLD students in special education) and provides a comprehensive discussion on related background information. The authors then take the next step by providing suggestions and information that will help the professional take ownership of and change the problem. This book will be a helpful tool for providing the practitioner with information related to the disproportion of CLD students in special education. This book's foundation in current research, practical suggestions, and reproducible materials make it a worthy edition to any practitioner's library. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)