Most immigrant parents face the challenge of passing on their heritage language to their children.

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.

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Studies comparing associations between early literacy related activities and developmental outcome among ethnically diverse groups of children are scarce. The aims of this study were to: (a) document the differences in Turkish immigrant (n = 79) and German (n = 88) preschool children's home literacy environment (HLE), cognitive, and speaking proficiency test scores, (b) identify predictors of HLE and developmental status, and (c) disentangle effects of education and ethnicity on children's HLE and developmental status. Turkish immigrant children, on average, had lower HLE, cognitive, and speaking proficiency test scores when compared to their German peers. After controlling for parent education, HLE predicted children's test scores in both groups. Similarities in predictive patterns emphasize positive effects of a stimulating HLE for young children's development, irrespective of the cultural specificity of dyadic bookreading. Our findings suggest that increased efforts should be made to develop culturally sensitive intervention strategies to facilitate access to print materials for children and to promote both mothers' and fathers' bookreading.

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