Administrative Supplement for: Language difference or difficulty learning? Assessing early language skills to identify risk for reading difficulty among young Spanish-English dual language learners

来自家长的资助：教育卫生研究中的一个主要挑战是没有良好的- 确定可靠地识别双语学习者阅读困难早期迹象的方法 (Dlls)。鉴于识字对个人福祉的价值以及及早识别的重要性，最大限度地 教育增长，迫切需要优化评估，以确定存在以下风险的西班牙语-英语DLL 在小学早期就有阅读困难。因此，拟议研究的长期目标是 建立实用、可靠的方法，以早期识别DLL中的阅读障碍。代表着一个 为了实现这一目标，该项目的总体目标是确定对幼儿园语言和 识字前：(1)可靠地预测一年后西班牙语-英语DLL的阅读发展；(2)是 对识别被归类为一年级阅读困难风险的DLL高度敏感。我们假设 挖掘语言知识的多个潜在领域的衡量标准将最有力地预测未来 阅读发展，但早期语言和后期阅读之间的关系将是不一致的 DLLS，取决于双语接触、使用和早期基于代码的识字技能。我们进一步假设 可迁移语言技能的测量将为预测提供最佳的单一测量判别力 一年级的阅读困难，但这两种语言的评估将是必要的，以达到良好的效果 分类准确率。为了检验这些假设，我们将提出两个具体目标。首先，这个项目将 确定幼儿园语言中DLL的英语和西班牙语技能的衡量标准，这些衡量标准可以可靠地预测 一年级阅读成绩。第二，确定标准化测量的分类功能 在一年级识别有阅读困难风险的西班牙语-英语DLL的双语能力。到 为了达到这些目标，孩子们将完成对西班牙语和英语词汇知识的评估， 形态句法、早期基于代码的识字技能、叙事宏观结构和叙事微观结构 幼儿园。他们的父母和老师也将被要求描述孩子接触双语的情况 并在家庭和学校环境中使用。一年后，在一年级，孩子们将完成 英语和西班牙语的译码和阅读理解的测量。这项工作意义重大，因为 及早、可靠地预测识字困难是防止学生在学习期间落后于同龄人的关键 小学早期的几年。及早识别可能有阅读困难的DLL有助于教育工作者 配置专业资源和个性化教学，最大限度地提高学生的收益。这部作品 是创新的，因为它直接考虑了DLL群体的异构性，检查了双语如何 接触和使用可能会影响两年的语言和阅读技能，重点是第一年 多年的小学教育。这项工作符合NICHD的使命，即最大限度地发挥所有儿童的潜力 过健康而富有成效的生活。

From the parent grant: A major challenge in educational health research is that there are no well- established approaches for reliably identifying early signs of reading difficulty among dual language learners (DLLs). Given the value of literacy to individual well-being and the importance of early identification to maximize educational growth, there is a critical need to optimize assessment to identify Spanish-English DLLs at risk for reading difficulty early in the elementary years. Consequently, the long-term goal of the proposed research is to establish practical, reliable methods for early identification of reading disability among DLLs. Representing one step toward this goal, the overall objective of this project is to identify assessments of kindergarten language and preliteracy that: (1) reliably predict Spanish-English DLLs’ reading development one year later and (2) are highly sensitive for identifying DLLs classified as being at risk for reading difficulties in grade 1. We hypothesize that measures that tap multiple underlying domains of linguistic knowledge will most strongly predict future reading development, but that the relations between early language and later reading will be inconsistent across DLLs, depending on dual language exposure, use, and early code-based literacy skills. We further hypothesize that measures of transferable language skills will provide optimal single-measure discrimination for predicting reading difficulty in grade 1, but that assessment in both languages will be necessary to achieve good classification accuracy. To test these hypotheses, two specific aims will be addressed. First, this project will identify measures of DLLs’ English and Spanish language skills in kindergarten language that reliably predict reading achievement in grade 1. Second, we will determine the classification function of standardized measures of dual language abilities for identifying Spanish-English DLLs at risk for reading difficulties in grade 1. To achieve these aims, children will complete assessments of Spanish and English vocabulary knowledge, morphosyntax, early code-based literacy skills, narrative macrostructure, and narrative microstructure during kindergarten. Their parents and teachers will also be asked to describe the children's dual language exposure and use across the home and school environment. One year later, during grade 1, children will complete measures of decoding and reading comprehension in English and Spanish. This work is significant because early, reliable prediction of literacy difficulties is critical to prevent students from falling behind their peers during the early elementary years. Early identification of DLLs likely to have difficulty learning to read allows educators to allocate specialized resources and individualized instruction to maximize gains for those students. This work is innovative because it directly attends to the heterogeneity of the DLL population, examining how dual language exposure and use may influence language and reading skills across two years of schooling, focusing on the first years of elementary education. This work aligns with NICHD’s mission to maximize the potential of all children to live healthy and productive lives.