Improving Preschool Classroom Assessments for Young Children Who Are Dual Language Learners

WASHINGTON, DC — Preschool programs across the United States increasingly rely on classroom assessments to track the development of young children and guide their instruction. Yet for the growing share of Dual Language Learners (DLLs)—children ages 0 – 5 who have at least one parent who speaks a language other than English at home—many of the instruments used in U.S. classrooms are a poor fit. A new issue brief out today from the Migration Policy Institute’s National Center on Immigrant Integration Policy examines the shortcomings of current preschool classroom assessments for DLLs, who represent one-third of all U.S. children under age 6, and offers strategies for building more linguistically and culturally responsive systems.

The brief, Making Preschool Classroom Assessments Work for Dual Language Learners, finds that widely used assessment tools in preschool classrooms are rarely designed or validated with DLLs in mind. Many rely heavily on English, embed assumptions about mainstream cultural norms or are simply translated from English without accounting for different linguistic structures and cultural references. Analysts Katherine Habben, Victoria Kim and Lorena Mancilla note that these tools risk underestimating DLLs’ skills across developmental domains and may feed inaccuracies into decisions about special education referrals, instructional supports and program quality.

Drawing on interviews and other exchanges with early childhood leaders, educators and researchers, the analysis pinpoints gaps in tools, policy and workforce preparation, and offers concrete steps to strengthen assessment systems, spotlighting those that state agencies, districts and preschool programs have undertaken in Illinois, one of the country’s most linguistically diverse states.

The issue brief also highlights three key gaps that shape how DLLs are assessed: inconsistent engagement of families in the assessment process, limited access to interpreters and bilingual staff, and a lack of sustained professional development that prepares educators to interpret DLLs’ development across languages. These gaps can make it harder for families to share what children can do in their home language and can leave educators without the training they need to use classroom assessments fairly and effectively.

To help scale effective practices, the issue brief offers several recommendations for federal and state policymakers, early childhood systems leaders and preschool programs, including:

• Investing in valid and reliable assessment tools that can accurately measure DLLs’ abilities in both their home language and English.
• Promoting the use of multiple assessment methods, such as observational assessments, interviews, home language surveys and play-based activities, to build a more holistic picture of DLLs’ development.
• Including parents as partners in assessment and utilizing interpreters or family navigators, translated materials and varied engagement opportunities so families can share information about children’s language use and educators can better understand assessment results.
• Regularly reviewing and adapting assessment tools and practices to minimize cultural bias, incorporate research findings and respond to feedback from educators and families.
• Expanding professional development on assessing DLLs, ensuring educators receive ongoing training on bilingual development, equitable assessment strategies and using data to inform instruction.
• Growing the bilingual preschool educator workforce through targeted recruitment and retention efforts, financial incentives and clearer pathways for qualified educators who were trained outside the United States.

As the authors write, “Linguistically and culturally responsive assessment practices are crucial tools for understanding the development of young DLLs and for supporting their future academic, social and emotional success.”

Read the issue brief here: www.migrationpolicy.org/research/preschool-classroom-assessments.

For more of the Center’s work on early childhood education and care, visit: www.migrationpolicy.org/topics/early-childhood-education-and-care.