The Importance of Quality Assessment Measures for Young Dual Language Learners

• In Event: Data for Decisions: Family and Child Experiences Survey as a Model of Policy-Driven and Policy-Guiding Research

Abstract

Dual language learners (DLLs) constitute the fastest growing population in Head Start programs today. Over 30 percent of children are DLLs, with 80% of children being Spanish speaking. This number is expected to continue to grow over the next few decades. In order to meet the educational needs of DLLs, it is critical that teachers have access to quality measurement tools. The purpose of this presentation is to: discuss the importance of having valid and reliable measures for DLLs and (2) review what is known about DLLs’ development and the implications for the assessment of DLLs in Head Start as well as in other early childhood programs.

Specifically, the presentation will discuss the need for quality assessment instruments in children’s home languages and in English. Currently, there are few assessment instruments that can be used to assess DLLs’ abilities in their home language. Most of the available tests are only available in Spanish and many were normed on monolingual samples from outside the United States. Valid and reliable assessment instruments normed on DLLs are needed, so that teachers and other educational personnel are able to obtain quality information about children’s development to better plan instruction and identify children requiring additional services. Given the dearth of measures, research with DLLs need to consider the most appropriate approach for using specific language-version measures and appropriate inferences to draw. The presentation will then highlight the use of FACES data to determine such an assessment approach for DLLs attending Head Start, which supports the development of children’s language in both languages.

Additionally, key findings about DLLs’ development and their implications for assessment will be addressed (Hammer, Hoff, Uchikoshi, & Gillanders, 2014). These include: (1) bilingual development is not the same as monolingual development, (2) DLLs need years before they catch up to monolinguals, (3) young DLLs’ conceptual vocabulary is the same size as monolinguals’, (4) DLLs use their knowledge of their home language to learn English, (5) DLLs’ abilities in their two languages are greatly influenced by the amount of exposure to and usage of their languages, and (6) DLLs cannot have a language disorder in only one language; both languages need to be delayed. Therefore, children’s abilities in their two languages need to be assessed through the use of valid and reliable instruments over time. To interpret test findings, information needs to be gathered about the amount of exposure children have had to their languages (i.e., age of exposure and amount family members/teachers speak to the child and the amount the child uses when speaking to family members/teachers). The presentation will highlight how studies like FACES attempts to address this gap and challenges for future studies to address.

It has been well established that children’s abilities during the preschool years serve as the foundation for their academic development in elementary school and beyond. Quality assessment of DLLs’ abilities is essential to make certain that DLLs receive the support that they need to set them on a positive academic trajectory.

Author

• Carol Scheffner Hammer, Teachers College, Columbia University