Achievement gaps in school readinessbetween dual language learners (DLLs) and their English-only peers persist, in part because common assessment practices do not fully capture DLLs’ abilities. Using the Head Start Family and Child Experiences Survey, a nationally representative sample of Head Start children, this study examines whether DLLs’ performance varies by assessment language. Applying a fuzzy regression discontinuity design, we found that DLLs who barely failed the language screening and were assessed in Spanish for mathematics outperformed those who barely passed and were assessed in English. These findings reveal biases in assessment practices that may misrepresent DLLs’ abilities, reinforcing educational inequities. Results underscore the need for linguistically responsive assessments that more accurately reflect DLLs’ mathematical competencies
BedoreL. M.PeñaE. D.GarcíaM.CortezC. (2005). Conceptual versus monolingual scoring: When does it make a difference?Language, Speech, and Hearing Services in Schools, 36(3), 188–200.
2.
BuysseV.Peisner-FeinbergE.PáezM.HammerC. S.KnowlesM. (2014). Effects of early education programs and practices on the development and learning of dual language learners: A review of the literature. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 29(4), 765–785.
CrosnoeR. (2007). Early child care and the school readiness of children from Mexican immigrant families 1. International Migration Review, 41(1), 152–181.
5.
DuncanS. E.De AvilaE. A. (1998). Pre-School Language Assessment Scale (Pre-LAS 2000—English). CTB/McGraw-Hill.
6.
DuránR. P. (2008). Assessing English-language learners’ achievement. Review of Research in Education, 32(1), 292–327.
7.
EspinosaL. M. (2020). Addressing equity in the ECE classroom: Equal access and high quality for dual language learners. In HowesC.DownerJ. T.PiantaR. C. (Eds.), Getting it right: Using implementation research to improve outcomes in early care and education (pp. 131–151). Foundation for Child Development.
8.
Fabiano-SmithL.GoldsteinB. A. (2010). Phonological acquisition in bilingual Spanish–English speaking children. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, 53(1), 160–178. https://doi.org/10.1044/1092-4388(2009/07-0064)
9.
GoodrichJ. M.LoniganC. J. (2018). Development of first- and second-language vocabulary knowledge among language-minority children: Evidence from single language and conceptual scores. Journal of Child Language, 45(4), 1006–1017.
10.
GrosjeanF. (1989). Neurolinguists, beware! The bilingual is not two monolinguals in one person. Brain and Language, 36(1), 3–15.
11.
GrossM.BuacM.KaushanskayaM. (2014). Conceptual scoring of receptive and expressive vocabulary measures in simultaneous and sequential bilingual children. American Journal of Speech-Language Pathology, 23(4), 574–586.
12.
HwangJ. K.Mancilla-MartinezJ.McClainJ. B.OhM. H.FloresI. (2020). Spanish-speaking English learners’ English language and literacy skills: The predictive role of conceptually scored vocabulary. Applied Psycholinguistics, 41(1), 1–24.
13.
KleinA. K.AikensN.LiA.BernsteinS.ReidN.DangM.BlessonE.RakibullahS.ScottM.CannonJ.HarringtonJ. (2018). Head Start Family and Child Experiences Survey (FACES 2019). United States Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, Office of Planning, Research, and Evaluation.
14.
KleinA. K.AikensN.LiA.BernsteinS.ReidN.DangM.BlessonE.RakibullahS.ScottM.CannonJ.HarringtonJ. (2021). Descriptive data on Head Start children and families from FACES 2019: Fall 2019 data tables and study design (OPRE Report 2021-77). Administration for Children & Families.
15.
KungM.StolzK.LinJ.FosterM. E.SchmittS. A.PurpuraD. J. (2021). The home numeracy environment and measurement of numeracy performance in English and Spanish in dual language learners. Topics in Early Childhood Special Education, 40(4), 241–252. https://doi.org/
16.
LaneS.LeventhalB. (2015). Psychometric challenges in assessing English language learners and students with disabilities. Review of Research in Education, 39(1), 165–214.
17.
Le MenestrelS.TakanishiR. (Eds.). (2017). Promoting the educational success of children and youth learning English: Promising futures. National Academies Press.
18.
LeeD. S.LemieuxT. (2010). Regression discontinuity designs in economics. Journal of Economic Literature, 48(2), 281–355.
19.
Mancilla-MartinezJ.GreenfaderC. M.OchoaW. (2018). Spanish-speaking preschoolers’ conceptual vocabulary knowledge: Towards more comprehensive assessment. HS Dialog: The Research to Practice Journal for the Early Childhood Field, 21(1). https://doi.org/10.55370/hsdialog.v21i1.751
20.
Mancilla-MartinezJ.HwangJ. K.OhM. H. (2021). Assessment selection for multilingual learners’ reading development. The Reading Teacher, 75(3), 351–362.
21.
Mancilla-MartinezJ.HwangJ. K.OhM. H.PokowitzE. L. (2020). Patterns of development in Spanish–English conceptually scored vocabulary among elementary-age dual language learners. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, 63(9), 3084–3099.
National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. (2017). Promoting the educational success of children and youth learning English: Promising futures. The National Academies Press. https://doi.org/10.17226/24677
PurpuraD. J.ReidE. E. (2016). Mathematics and language: Individual and group differences in mathematical language skills in young children. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 36, 259–268.
27.
RainelliS.Bulotsky-ShearerR. J.FernandezV. A.GreenfieldD. B.LopezM. (2017). Validity of the first two subtests of the preschool language assessment scale as a language screener for Spanish-speaking preschool children. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 38, 10–22.
28.
Solano-FloresG.LiM. (2013). Generalizability theory and the fair and valid assessment of linguistic minorities. Educational Research and Evaluation, 19(2–3), 245–263.
WeilandC.YoshikawaH. (2013). Impacts of a prekindergarten program on children’s mathematics, language, literacy, executive function, and emotional skills. Child Development, 84(6), 2112–2130.
