This section covers the goals and differences between screening and assessment before delving more deeply into each component. It’s important to understand what each term means so you can apply it to the different contexts throughout the session.

Head Start provides a model for how to most appropriately screen and assess young children who are multilingual learners. Before, or shortly after, a child enters an early childhood classroom, many programs require a screening tool to be administered that determines a child’s beginning developmental abilities. Screening is an initial step in understanding a child’s abilities.

Programs also usually require ongoing formative assessment, which may involve the observation and documentation of a child’s language and other behaviors. Ongoing assessment helps us know how much a child is learning and how they learn best. We use this information to help each child learn as much as possible.

Finally, if screening or ongoing formative assessment results suggest a child may not be developing as expected, we refer the child’s family for an in-depth formal evaluation, or assessment, of the child’s development. The results of a formal evaluation may be used to obtain additional supports, such as special education services, for the child.

Broad versus Specific

You could also think of screening and assessment as broad versus specific processes. Screening is usually done broadly with all children. A formal assessment is usually done specifically with children who have been identified as having some potential difficulties or delays, including children who are both monolingual and multilingual.

Pay attention to the screening and assessment of children who are multilingual learners. Most developmental measures consider only what is typical for monolingual English-speaking children. So, comparing children who are multilingual learners with children who speak only English could lead to false conclusions.

Dr. Linda Espinosa, retired professor of early childhood education at the University of Missouri, talks about the assessment tools used with children who are multilingual learners. As you watch this video (1:42), think about what Dr. Espinosa says about flaws in current standardized assessments. Also, think about the meaning of the phrase “tentative hypotheses.”

• When is it okay to make “tentative hypotheses?”
• According to Dr. Espinosa, what is flawed with the current standardized assessment measures?
• What does Dr. Espinosa suggest as an alternative procedure?

Language Delay Misconception

Also, consider some misconceptions when discussing the screening and assessment results of children who are multilingual learners. One of them is the misconception that learning two languages can cause language delay. This misconception often arises when only the words a child knows in one language are counted and compared against milestones versus all the words the child knows in both languages. Research studies conducted on bilingual children suggest that learning two languages does not cause language delay.

If a language delay is present, it will manifest in both languages. If language delay is suspected in only one language, chances are that the perceived language differences are resulting from limited proficiency in one of the languages.

When a language delay is present, the symptoms will be the same for bilingual and monolingual children. These symptoms are common language and communication milestones, but they are not exhaustive, nor should they be taken as the sole reference for language delay screening. These milestones, in combination with other sources of information and measures, should be able to clarify and help the clinician determine whether a language delay is present.

They include:

• No babble by 7 months
• No gestures by 12 months
• No words by 16 months
• Fewer than 50 words (counting both languages) by age 2
• Not producing sentences by ages 3 to 4

Note: If a child is producing sentences, it’s okay if they mix two languages at the same time.

Think specifically about children who are multilingual learners.

What are some potential causes of concerning screening results for a child who is a multilingual learner? As an educator, what steps might you take to address your concerns?

references

Cultivate Learning, University of Washington. (2019). Assessment tools and DLLs [Video file]

Head Start ECLKC (2019). Head Start Program Performance Standards. [Website]

Kuhl, P. K., & Ramirez, N. F. (2016). Bilingual language learning in children. Institute of Learning.

Lebedeva, G. (2018). Lesson 5-1: Families with Multiple Languages or Cultures. ECFS 419 Class.