Comparison of limited English proficient and English proficient Hmong students' performance on the comprehensive test of nonverbal intelligence

Abstract

Due to the inappropriateness of using traditional language-loaded intelligence tests with linguistic and cultural minority students, nonverbal intelligence tests are considered to be one suitable alternative. Research, however, on the use of recently developed nonverbal intelligence tests, especially with specific ethnic minorities is limited. This study investigated the performance of limited English proficient (n = 14) and English proficient (n = 14) 4th, 5th, and 6th grade Hmong students on the Comprehensive Test of Nonverbal Intelligence (CTONI). As expected, both the limited English and English proficient students performed in the "average" range on all CTONI composites (NIQ, PNIQ, GNIQ), and all three CTONI composite scores were strongly intercorrelated. Independent samples t-tests compared the limited English and English proficient students' mean CTONI scores. As the main hypothesis predicted, English proficient students achieved higher NIQ and PNIQ scores than limited English proficient students, suggesting that language proficiency impacted students' test performance. Although further studies are needed to investigate the relationship between language proficiency and nonverbal test performance, this study's findings support the use of the CTONI as a suitable, language "reduced" cognitive measure for Hmong students.