Publisher: Washington, DC: National Clearinghouse for Bilingual Education 

This paper discusses issues in assessment and development of early literacy in children who are two-language learners. Included in the paper are summaries of specific research studies that address each of the identified issues. Specifically, this paper will address the following concepts: (1) assessment must combine concepts known in the first language with concepts being learned in the second language; (2) assessment for two-language children must consider how two languages interact; and (3) there are differences, as well as similarities, in emergent reading and writing behaviors of Spanish-speaking children. Implications of the above concepts for literacy instruction for Spanish/English emerging bilinguals will also be presented.