Language assessments shape who gets services, how goals are written, and how progress is measured, but there are many misconceptions about how to follow best-practices when doing an evaluation. In this three-part series, bilingual SLPs Destiny Johnson and Tiffany Shahoumian-Ruiz join me to dig into the science, the myths, and the policies that shape evaluation practices in schools.
Across these conversations, we explore:
- Sensitivity, specificity, reference standards, and diagnostic accuracy
- How test development has evolved over time and why this matters
- Why the same cut-off score shouldn’t apply across all tests
- The math behind using two norm-referenced tests, and why it may complicate rather than clarify in some cases
- Other reasons we test beyond diagnosis (treatment planning, severity, monitoring progress)
- How do we do we to “sell” the concept of dynamic assessment to administrators
- Case studies that show the pitfalls of over-reliance on standardized scores
- Misconceptions clinicians often hold, and what they should know about assessment
- Differences in state eligibility standards, and what this means for service decisions
This series is part myth-busting, part practical strategies, and part advocacy playbook—perfect for clinicians who want to move beyond compliance-driven evaluations toward assessments that truly reflect students’ needs.
You can listen to Part 1 of the series here.
Destiny Johnson, M.S., CCC-SLP, is a bilingual speech-language pathologist (English/Spanish) with a deep passion for culturally responsive assessment and treatment practices, as well as advocating for policy change. She has presented on dynamic assessment at the CSHA Convergence 2024, focusing on the importance of dynamic assessment in bilingual children. Destiny has experience working as a school-based SLP, in private practice, and in early intervention. She is also the founder and CEO of Multimodal Communication Speech Clinic P.C.
Tiffany Shahoumian-Ruiz is a bilingual high school SLP from Southern California who has primarily worked in the school systems and has experience at both the elementary and secondary level. She’s also a member of
Language Therapy Advance Foundations, and is involved in
state and local advocacy work relating to
dynamic assessments and
special education eligibility. In this episode, I mention
Language Therapy Advance Foundations, my program that gives SLPs and other service providers create a system for language therapy. You can
learn more about the program here.
Additional Resources Mentioned in the episode:
Daub, O., Cunningham, B. J., Bagatto, M. P., Johnson, A. M., Kwok, E. Y., Smyth, R. E., & Oram Cardy, J. (2021). Adopting a conceptual validity framework for testing in speech-language pathology.
American Journal of Speech-Language Pathology, 30(4), 1894–1908
. https://doi.org/10.1044/2021_AJSLP-20-00032Spaulding, T. J., Plante, E., & Farinella, K. A. (2006). Eligibility criteria for language impairment: Is the low end of normal always appropriate?
Language, Speech, and Hearing Services in Schools, 37(1), 61–72.
https://doi.org/10.1044/0161-1461(2006/007)
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On the De Facto Leaders podcast, host Dr. Karen Dudek-Brannan helps pediatric therapists and educators become better leaders, so they can make a bigger impact with their services. With over 15 years of experience supporting school-age kids with diverse learning needs, Dr. Karen shares up-to-date evidence-based practices, her own experiences and guest interviews designed to help clinicians, teachers, and aspiring school leaders feel more confident in the way they serve their students and clients. She’ll cover a range of topics designed to help you support students' emotional and academic growth and set kids up for success in adulthood, including how to support language, literacy, executive functioning, and how to help IEP teams working together to support kids across the day. Whether you want to learn more effective strategies for your therapy session or classroom, be a more influential leader on your team, or find creative ways to use your skills to advance in your career, Dr. Karen has you covered.