Dynamic assessment: an approach to assessing children's language-learning potential

Dynamic assessment represents an alternative approach to traditional language assessments. In dynamic assessment, the examiner attempts to assess the child's potential for language change or modifiability. This article discusses the development of this approach from its early psychological applications to current models of dynamic assessment as they apply to the assessment of child language. Dynamic assessment is particularly useful in addressing cultural differences that may influence children's assessment performance. The approach involves a test-teach-retest paradigm that includes mediated learning experiences, measures of test score gains, ratings of modifiability and language-learning strategies, as well as analyses of qualitative changes in children's responses.