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IRIS Center Case Study
English Language Learners: Is This Child Mislabeled?
Objective
Activity
Learn about and discuss some of the issues related to cultural and linguistic diversity,
student assessment, and placement decisions.
Scenario
Serge Romanich, a third-grade student and refugee from Serbia, spoke limited English.
His education had been sporadic at best and the new elementary school he was
attending had tested and classified him as learning disabled.
A week before school was scheduled to start, Harry Simms, the principal at Oakwood
Elementary, was busy at his desk. The school secretary entered his office and said,
“There are some people here to see you. I think they want to enroll a student.”
Harry stood up and welcomed the visitors, two women and an-eight-year-old boy.
“I am Byona Romanich and this is Serge,” said one of the women. The other woman
quickly added, “I am Byona’s sister-in-law, Trina. I am here to interpret for her because
she speaks only French, Russian, and Spanish—very little English. She would like to
enroll Serge in the school.”
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Trina translated as Byona talked. “Serge was born in Serbia and his development was
completely normal, just like the other little boys of the village. He was getting ready to
begin school when the Serbian war began. We went to France and stayed with relatives
outside Vichy. Although Serge was ready to begin school, he was unable to attend until
the next school year due to my extended hospital stay. During his schooling in France,
he did not speak the language very well and received no reading instruction. At that
point, Serge, his sister, and I traveled to America to join my brother.”
Harry did not know how to respond. He decided simply to welcome Serge to Oakwood
and assure Mrs. Romanich the school staff would help him adjust to his new
environment.
Serge was placed in a third-grade class and received additional services from the
Limited English Proficiency (LEP) program. He made very little progress over the next
few months. Serge was essentially a non-reader and showed little aptitude in the LEP
class. His teacher suggested to Mrs. Romanich that perhaps Serge had a learning
disability that should be explored with testing.
Mrs. Romanich rejected that possibility, stating that she felt that her son would catch up
as he became more proficient in speaking the language.
By the end of the year, Serge had not caught up. He was still struggling with the
language and had made very little academic progress. Mrs. Romanich reluctantly
agreed to have Serge tested. When the testing was complete, she met with Serge’s
teachers, the principal, and the school psychologist. The school psychologist read the
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evaluation results. “Serge’s score on the Leiter (a nonverbal intelligence test often used
with non-English speakers) was 105. This score falls within the Average range of
intelligence. On the Woodcock-Johnson Test of Cognitive Abilities, he scored at least 2
standard deviations below the mean in the areas of auditory processing, short-term
memory, comprehension knowledge, and fluid reasoning; tasks that typically measure
an individual’s verbal abilities. He scored in the Average range in: long-term processing,
processing speed, and visual processing; these tasks are mostly perceptual. On the
Woodcock-Johnson Tests of Achievement, Serge scored 2 standard deviations below
the mean in reading, written language, and knowledge. He scored in the Average range
in math.”
The school psychologist then turned to Mrs. Romanich and her interpreter and said,
“This pattern of scores, achievement scores 2 standard deviations or more below the
intelligence score, is indicative of a learning disability. In addition, the equally wide gap
between Serge’s verbal and non-verbal scores supports the proposition that he has a
learning disability. He would benefit from individualized and small-group instruction for
part of the day in a resource room.” Everyone around the table nodded in agreement
except Serge’s mother.
Mrs. Romanich said, “I think Serge is just having trouble picking up the language. At
home he does fine. He seems so intelligent to me.”
“He is intelligent, Mrs. Romanich, but he has a learning disability that is holding him
back. We can help him overcome that disability and achieve his full potential by
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providing more individualized instruction. He will also continue to receive services in the
LEP class,” the psychologist responded. Mrs. Romanich finally agreed to the placement.
Despite his new placement, Serge made limited progress the next year in fourth grade.
However, fifth grade proved to be a true success story for Serge. His new resource
teacher, Mrs. Evans, was in her third year of teaching. She was impressed by the
diversity of the students at the school, including a large population of children of Serbian
descent. She became interested in finding out as much as she could about the culture
and background of her students in order to develop a relationship with them. She
developed an especially close relationship with Serge.
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Mrs. Evans worked with Serge in a resource pull-out program for two hours every day.
She also went into Serge’s classroom three times each week for language arts in order
to provide him with additional support. Serge’s English-speaking proficiency increased
as well as his reading skills. The combination of resource room instruction and an
inclusive language class proved to be effective. Serge progressed from being a non-
reader to reading and speaking English at a second-grade level. His math skills were
even stronger.
Mrs. Evans observed firsthand Serge’s rapid academic achievement. She noted that
when Serge was introduced to a new word and its definition, he was able to retain that
knowledge. Although Serge was still a quiet child and hesitant to become involved in
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detailed English conversations, he was very comfortable when talking socially to his
peers.
Because of his rapid academic growth, Mrs. Evans began to question Serge’s diagnosis
of learning disabled. She decided to check out his records in the school office. As she
read his file, she discovered that the initial testing was done in English and Serbian, but
Serbian was used only if Serge indicated that he did not understand what was being
said. She thought of the gains Serge had made this year. Was he really learning
disabled, or did he simply need more time to learn and feel comfortable speaking
English? Could the testing results simply be a result of poor language skills and not a
learning disability per se? She continued to ponder the situation as she closed Serge’s
file and handed it back to the secretary.
Questions/Discussion Topics
1. Do you think Serge’s skills were assessed adequately? Do you think he was
correctly identified as learning disabled? Why or why not?
2. Do you think a special education placement was appropriate for Serge? Why or
why not? What kind of progress do you think he would have made in a general
education setting without individualized instruction?
3. Mrs. Evans learned about the cultural background of her students. How do you
think this knowledge impacted her teaching?
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Reference:
I. (n.d.). English Language Learners: Is This Child Mislabeled? Retrieved November 18, 2020, from https://iris.peabody.vanderbilt.edu/wp- content/uploads/pdf_activities/case_based/IA_Is_This_Child_Mislable d.pdf
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