ABSTRACT
The physical examinations at school enrollment of the years 1999 to 2004 were subjected to comparative analysis to help clarify whether children's language performance at enrollment has significantly decreased in recent years or not. This question has indeed been a matter of public debate for some time. Furthermore, potential influencing factors, in particular social environment, were to be examined as regards their effects on language performance. The results indicate that the children's performance level has not significantly decreased over the six-year period of observation. Instead, rather an increase can be observed over this period of time. If, nevertheless, more and more and, in particular, more significant language deficits continue to be observed, one explanation for this may be seen in a changing assessment of children's needs for therapy or remedial education. The performance level of children who were recommended therapy or means of remedial education in 2004 is significantly higher than that of children for whom such recommendations were given in 1999 or 2000. Perhaps an increased sensitivity for those performance areas where performance levels are found to be deficient should be postulated, and, consequently, a more differentiated assessment of diagnostic findings should be assumed. The results of the examinations once again demonstrate the enormous influence that social factors have on language performance. Children growing up in a less advantaged social environment tend to achieve significantly lower performance marks in language tests than children from more privileged social environments. Also the duration of kindergarten education appears to be relevant to children's language performance: children who have visited institutions of preschool-education for three or more years achieve higher performance marks than children who have spent no ore only little time in these institutions. When seen against the background of circa one in four children with a migration background (around 8% of persons of the same age in Münster's population) having unsatisfactory knowledge of German at school enrollment, there appear to be efficient prevention measures available here.
