An Exploration of Elementary Teachers’ Views of Informal Reading Inventories in Dual Language Bilingual Programs

Biliteracy of African American and Latinx Kindergarten Students in a Dual-Language Program: Understanding Students’ Translanguaging Practices Across Informal Assessments

“…As policymakers and educators consider how to best educate the growing minoritized student populations in public schools, this article shines light on the promise that DL education can benefit both African American and Latinx students. This study analyzed skills and strategies and did not simply determine students’ scores, which is important, given Ascenzi-Moreno’s (2016) findings that when students are assessed, the nature of their languaging and translanguaging is often overlooked because monolingual perspectives are still at play.…”

“…For example, García (2009) and Shohamy (2011) found that emergent bilinguals are often assessed with monolingual assessments. Similarly, Ascenzi-Moreno (2016) found that, in assessing student biliteracy development, the teachers did not look across the two languages to consider how students utilized both languages in unique ways. In other words, assessment has remained dichotomized even in circumstances where pedagogical practices embraced DL programing and translanguaging.…”

Bringing Bilingualism to the Center of Guided Reading Instruction

“…Practices that are so familiar to teachers, such as forming guided reading groups and selecting texts, are moments of informed and responsive decision making based on teachers’ deep and holistic knowledge of students. This point has special resonance for reading work with emergent bilinguals because it demands that teachers recognize and honor the diverse resources—across languages and experience—that emergent bilinguals bring to learning (Ascenzi‐Moreno, 2016, 2018; Kabuto, 2017; Laman, 2014; Souto‐Manning, 2016).…”

“…However, when it comes to emergent bilinguals in both monolingual English and DLB settings, guided reading and modifications for emergent bilinguals are implemented monolingually, or only in one language. Even within DLB programs, teachers often work with students on reading strategies in two languages separately, without a space to bridge students’ reading abilities across languages (Ascenzi‐Moreno, 2016).…”

A Second Lens on Formative Reading Assessment With Multilingual Students

“…The results of those assessments are used for a variety of purposes, including placing students in leveled reading instruction and intervention. However, there has been limited research on how to use formative reading assessments, such as running records, to support multilingual students (exceptions include Ascenzi‐Moreno, ; Kabuto, ; Montero et al., ). Also, because running records of previously read text are intended to guide teaching, the skillfulness of a teacher's analysis can significantly affect the instruction a student receives (Clay, ; Fried, ; Kaye & Van Dyke, ).…”