Publications and Research
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
Spring 5-4-2016
Abstract
This study examines how elementary teachers (grades three through five) in dual-language, bilingual programs (Spanish/English) view informal reading inventories (IRIs) to support their students’ reading growth. The research, conducted in an urban district in the Northeastern United States, draws on interviews with 20 teachers in these programs. One significant finding is that although teachers in the sample collected IRIs in the two languages of instruction, they did not examine English and Spanish reading assessment data side by side in order to construct a unified portrait of their students as bilingual readers. This study highlights the finding that IRIs are currently viewed as monolingual assessments rather than as a lens into students’ biliteracy, thus bypassing a powerful way to assist teachers in making instructional decisions in support of students’ bilingual reading development.
Comments
This article was originally published in Literacy Research and Instruction, available at http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/19388071.2016.1165318.