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it's so hard to answer what I'm doing dynamically because it all depends on each student's testing performance - but overall I will give give diff. opportunities so they know how to the task, then go ahead - or if I repeat it, how do they do - or if given more visuals, how do they do, etc. I do look at a combined total also between both languages, how much in each, how much overlap
Interesting info that you are finding.
My child study coordinator made a comment that I'm not sure what I think about - she said, "Kim don't you think in the near future we will be able to score tests because the normative sample/process will be based on similar language/cultural peers?"

Hello Kim ~

Hmmm...that's a tough question. I really like the theory behind the EOWPVT-SBE and ROWPVT-SBE (the conceptual scoring I mentioned above, which takes into account both languages), but I am still uncertain about the results I have received from administration. I currently am not practicing consistently due to my PhD program but when I used these tests in the past I felt I received inflated scores compared to other tests, clinical impressions, and therapy progress. This is just my clinical impression.

In regards to the PLS-4, I have limited experience with the English version. I am currently preparing a manuscript about the Spanish version, which we tested on 17 typically developing children. There were some concerns with the order of items and 13/17 children scored above the average. Clinically, I have also felt that scores were inflated but I have had other SLPs tell me the opposite. A larger concern is the 55% specificity for 3 yr olds reported in the manual for the test itself.

However, having said that, all of these tests are great improvements from those of the past and with appropriate clinical judgment I think they can all be useful. Are you using any particular alternative/dynamic strategies with them?

Kelly, thanks for the ideas. I would love to dialogue more with you about this. What do you feel about the new English/Spanish versions of the PLS-4 & EOWPVT-SBE? Are you using them in the standard way of administration or still dynamic?

Hello Kim ~ I think that your class sounds like a great idea. Many of us have learned about dynamic and other alternative assessment methods, but support can be helpful when taking the leap to implementation. I have utilized the actual process of dynamic assessment with the Spanish and English editions of the EOWPVT-R. We would give one section of the items, implement brief teaching sessions about 'special names' to stimulate the idea of using single word labels for items, instead of descriptors or phrases, and then give another section to determine how 'modifiable' the student was.

In addition to dynamic assessment I have also used conceptual scoring methods with tests that are direct translations across languages (such as the Spanish and English EOWPVT-R and PLS-3). I would administer both the English and Spanish versions and combine the scores to determine Total (in both languages) and Conceptual (in one language) knowledge. B.Z. Pearson and other authors have written about this technique in regards to vocabulary. I haven't used this technique as much since newer, adapted versions of these tests have been published - the EOWPVT-SBE and the distinct versions of the English and Spanish PLS-4. However, local screeners or other translated tests can still be scored in this fashion.
I hope some of this has been helpful!