Assessment of Migrant and Minority Children

Abstract

Testing children with minority status or migration background poses particular challenges for educators and researchers. More obvious are language barriers, but there may also be more complex limitations based on cultural or contextual differences. The literature on testing migrant and minority children is summarized in a brief historical perspective, focusing on the use of standardized tests. Potential biases in testing minority and migrant children are discussed, and empirical results of testing two groups of preschool age children of nonmigrant (N = 50) and migrant status (N = 35) with the ET 6–6 in Germany are presented. Results indicate significant group differences to the disadvantage of the migrant children in some scales, however, both groups scored within the normal range of one standard deviation around the test norm. The migrant group children were tested in their dominant language, and they used more time to complete the test. Interpretation of test results should use caution, particularly when using tests to support placement in educational settings.