Summary
Low literacy attainment affects one in five 15-year-olds in Europe, with consequences for a range of long-term prospects, but may be averted with early diagnosis of risk and timely interventions.
A Bangor-led international group of researchers developed the Multilanguage Assessment Battery of Early Literacy (MABEL) - the first freely-available, web-based resource, uniquely offering a battery of tests across five languages for monolingual, bilingual, and second language assessment. Primary beneficiaries of MABEL since September 2019 are 750 practitioners in 22 countries previously lacking objective, high quality, evidence-based assessments for early detection of children’s risk for, and manifestations of, literacy failure.
MABEL is the only multi-lingual battery for assessing monolingual, bilingual, and second language learners of any combination of the MABEL languages. Additionally, MABEL is the only available norm-referenced diagnostic battery specifically focusing on early literacy and related skills in Czech, Slovak and Welsh and is now being used by a broad range of practitioners.