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School-based Assessment with African American Children and Adolescents

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Guide to Psychological Assessment with African Americans

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Abstract

Data and information gathered from school-based assessments are frequently utilized to make critical decisions about curriculum, instruction, and school personnel. The outcomes of these assessments have the power to alter the educational trajectory of a student or determine the perceived value of a school. When approaching school-based assessment of African-American children and adolescents, specific considerations should be made to promote culturally responsive assessment, preferably from a population-based lens, that will provide authentic information regarding the student’s performance. This chapter discusses school-based assessment approaches for social–emotional and academic performance. Both population-based and curriculum-based assessment approaches are highlighted and implications of their use with African-American students are discussed. Additionally, considerations for approaching school-based assessments with African-American populations are provided.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Educational Psychology and Higher Education, University of Nevada Las Vegas, 4505 S. Maryland Parkway, P.O. Box 453003, 89154, Las Vegas, NV, USA

    Tara C. Raines PhD

  2. Graduate School of Psychology, California Lutheran University, 2201 Outlet Center Drive, Suite 600, 93036, Oxnard, CA, USA

    Jennifer Twyford PhD

  3. Department of Counseling, Clinical, and School Psychology, University of California Santa Barbara, Bldg. 275, Room 4100, 93106, Santa Barbara, CA, USA

    Erin Dowdy PhD

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  1. Tara C. Raines PhD
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  2. Jennifer Twyford PhD
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Correspondence to Tara C. Raines PhD .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, University of Nevada, Reno, Nevada, USA

    Lorraine T. Benuto

  2. California Dept of Corrections and Rehab High Desert State Prison, California Correctional Health Care Serv, Susanville, California, USA

    Brian D. Leany

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Raines, T., Twyford, J., Dowdy, E. (2015). School-based Assessment with African American Children and Adolescents. In: Benuto, L., Leany, B. (eds) Guide to Psychological Assessment with African Americans. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-1004-5_18

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