The state of the art in testing and teaching communicatively handicapped Hispanic children is examined in eight chapters organized into sections concerned with insights from research, a view of the present, and recommendations for the future. The three chapters of the first section summarize research related to the acquisition of English as a second language, the acquisition of Spanish as a first language, and the dialect/sociolinguistic features of Spanish spoken in California and the Southwest. The second section reviews 12 commonly used tests relevant to the assessment of limited English speaking/non-English speaking (LES/NES) children who may be eligible for language and speech special education services. It includes a descriptive review of each test's psychometric and psycholinguistic properties as well as its applications. The last section summarizes information gathered from the field regarding current practices in the treatment of communicatively handicapped LES/NES students from preschool to high school. Opinions of speech and language professionals are summarized. The handbook concludes with a set of short- and long-term recommendations spanning both research and practice. The nine short-term recommendations include developing an "identification-placement-exit framework" for student assessment, developing a set of personnel functions, and developing a resource bank of existing personnel knowledgeable about assessment and instruction of communicatively handicapped LES/NES students. Among eight long-term recommendations are the provision of support to organizations developing instruments needed to implement diagnostic systems for LES/NES students and development of program models for treating communicatively handicapped LES/NES students. (DB)