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Published on: June 30, 2020
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Measurement Issues: Assessing language skills in young children
Julie E Dockrell1, Chloë R Marshall1
1Psychology and Human Development, Institute of Education, London, UK.
Child and Adolescent Mental Health
|July 19, 2020
Summary
Current language screening tools for children are not reliable for identifying language problems. Composite measures are better than single-skill tests for assessing language development and disorders.
Area of Science:
- Child Development
- Linguistics
- Educational Psychology
Background:
- Language and communication skills are fundamental for children's social engagement and learning.
- Assessing these skills is crucial for early identification and intervention.
- This paper examines current practices and challenges in language assessment for children.
Purpose of the Study:
- To identify key issues for practitioners and researchers in assessing children's language skills.
- To review existing language assessment tools and their psychometric properties.
- To highlight limitations in current screening measures.
Main Methods:
- Review of current language assessment tools.
- Analysis of psychometric properties of screening measures.
- Examination of factors influencing language assessment interpretation.
Main Results:
- Current screening measures lack the necessary psychometric soundness to accurately identify language problems.
- Interpreting language assessments is complex due to influences from socioeconomic status, language background, hearing, and test design.
- Composite measures of language performance are more effective than single-skill measures.
Conclusions:
- Psychometrically validated language assessments are vital for effective early intervention strategies.
- Preschool children exhibit diverse language development trajectories, underscoring the limitations of current screening tools.
- Utilizing composite measures enhances the identification of language problems and disorders.
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