Getting Started With Multitudes - Training Guide - v6
Getting Started With Multitudes - Training Guide - v6
Multitudes
Digital Training Guide
Training Certification Checklist
Declaration
I certify that I have demonstrated competency in all required components of the Multitudes training program:
• Navigating the Multitudes platform,
• Administering the Multitudes universal screener with K-2 students,
• Administering follow-up assessments for students who screen as “Support Needed,”
• Supporting multilingual and multidialectal learners appropriately,
• Interpreting screening results,
• Maintaining technical requirements and proper testing conditions.
Next Steps
• Keep this completed checklist for your records.
• Share a copy with your supervisor/instructional leader.
• Access the Multitudes Resources page for ongoing support.
• Review training components as needed throughout the year.
Multitudes Self-Guided Training Overview
Welcome to Multitudes!
• Administer the Multitudes universal screener with your kindergarten, first, and second grade students
• Understand the results of the universal screener and additional assessments, and
• Use these results to make instructional decisions for a class, group, or individual student
We recommend working through the following training components in order. Please feel free to
An overview of the complete Multitudes platform, including the basics and logistics of the
How to register your personal Multitudes account, log in to the platform, and
How to select and start the universal screener and additional assessments.
Initial considerations for interpreting children's Multitudes screening results and planning
instructional strategies to support their reading growth. (Time: 4 min, Format: video)
Additional resources
Parent/guardian communications
Screening printables
The goal of screening is to detect risk of reading difficulty as efficiently as possible. When
children are developing more than one language at home or school, screening them in
both languages gives educators and parents/guardians a fuller picture of their skills than
screening in just one language (Baker et al., 2022).
Multitudes is currently available in two languages: English and Spanish. Additionally, two
language tasks, Narrative Story Production and Semantic Mapping, are available in nine
additional languages: Arabic, Chinese, Farsi, Korean, Punjabi, Russian, Tagalog,
Ukrainian, and Vietnamese. While Narrative Story Production or Semantic Mapping
alone can’t determine risk of reading difficulties, they provide valuable information about
a child’s language use and oral language skills that can be instructionally informative. For
administration and scoring directions in the languages specified above, please visit the
platform’s Resources page, Getting Started tab.
Start with the Screener Language Matrix below. Find the child’s primary language and
their language of instruction. Draw a line across from their primary language and down
from their instructional language. Where the lines meet shows the recommended
language(s) for screening.
1) First, identify Elena’s primary language, which is the language spoken at home –
Spanish.
2) Next, identify Elena’s language of instruction, which is the language used for
instruction in their classroom – both Spanish and English.
Using this information, we can see that Elena should be screened in both languages. It
is recommended that Elena take the Spanish Language Screener first, if that is her more
dominant language. Since Elena attends a dual language school, there will be test
administrators qualified to give both screeners in Spanish and English. If they are unsure
whether Elena has enough English proficiency to complete the English Language
Screener, they can check the next section Checking for Minimum Language Proficiency.
Ming is an emergent bilingual child who speaks Mandarin at home.
They attend a school where all instruction is provided in English.
1) First, identify Ming’s primary language, which is the language spoken at home –
Other.
2) Next, identify Ming’s language of instruction, which is the language used for
instruction in their classroom – English.
Using this information, we can see that Ming should be screened in English. If the test
administrator is unsure whether Ming has enough English proficiency to complete the
English Language Screener, they can check the next section Checking for Minimum
Language Proficiency. It is also recommended that Ming complete Narrative Story
Production and Semantic Mapping in Chinese, if a qualified test administrator is
available.
Checking for Minimum Language Proficiency
After using the Screener Language Matrix, a test administrator might be unsure whether
a child has the minimum language proficiency needed for screening in English. Children
must know enough of the language used in the screener (English or Spanish) for the
results to be valid and useful. Test administrators must be able to confidently say: “Yes,
this child has the minimum language proficiency to be screened in this language!”
First, check the child’s results on their state’s English language proficiency assessment,
if available. Alternatively, follow this simple sentence repetition protocol.
Sentences
Dialectal Variability
Natural variability in children’s speech may be influenced by their geographical region
or the social and linguistic groups they belong to. While Multitudes tasks do not
specifically focus on speech or articulation, a general rule is to not penalize children for
how they speak.
For example, children in California are exposed to distinct regional language variations,
such as African American/Black English, English influenced by Spanish, or English
influenced by Mandarin, etc. based on their family background and community.
Multitudes was designed using sounds and sound combinations that are familiar across
many different linguistic communities. However, test administrators should still ensure
they score accurately when children use regional or community-based dialects. To assist
with this, Multitudes provides “Administrator Guides for Language Variation.” There are
five guides available for the English Language Screener, which can be found on the
platform’s Resources page.
● African American English / Black English
● Arabic / bilingual influence of English language production
● Mandarin/bilingual influence on English language production
● Spanish/bilingual influence on English language production
● Vietnamese/bilingual influence on English language production
Articulation Differences
It is expected that young children's articulation or production of speech sounds will vary.
Many tasks require children to say their responses aloud, and test administrators must
score those spoken responses. During conversation, administrators should pay attention
to any differences in how a child articulates sounds, as these may appear during
screening tasks.
If a child consistently makes a common articulation error, such as the ones listed below,
test administrators should score based on the sound they believe the child is trying to
produce. Common articulation error patterns in grades K-2 include:
● /d/, /f/ for /th/ (e.g. “dem” for them, “mouf” for mouth, “fank” for thank)
● /w/ for /l/ (e.g., “yewow” for yellow, “wuv” for love)
● /w/ for /r/ (e.g., “wabbit” for rabbit, “weady” for ready, “weally” for really)
These errors are not penalized during screening, but they should be noted and
monitored over time.
No sp- st- sc- blends speakers may add “e” at the special as especial
start of the word
Word-final consonants other speakers may soften or even cupcake as cupcay
than /s, n, r, l, d/ are omit many word-final wind as win
infrequent consonants
Note: This list is meant to be a guide of the most common productions that may cause
differences in scoring, based on previous research and our own experience working
with bilinguals. It is not exhaustive and does not represent every speaker.
Administrator Guide for Language Variation
African American English/Black English
* These examples were taken from the transcripts of child speakers of African American
English (Washington & Seidenberg, 2021).
Administration Manual | English Version | Second Edition | Spring 2025 19 | 113
Everything you need to know in order to use the platform is explained in the Getting
Started section of the Resources page. Video tutorials explain how to log in, reset a
password, navigate the platform, launch a screening session, administer tasks, and more.
Here is some of what you’ll find there:
Accessing Multitudes
Log in. Forgot your password? Click “Forgot password?” to reset it.
On the child’s device, open the application web site, [Link] and
select “Student Device”
When you log in, you will be taken to the Launch Screener page. You will see all the
students to whom you have access. You can filter by School, Class, and/or Grade.
Then, enter the 4-character code shown on the student’s device into your device. This
will pair the two devices. Finally, click Start Assessment to begin!
After a child completes the universal screener, you can access even more assessment
tasks. Select Follow up Assessment.
Then, enter the 4-character code shown on the student’s device into your device to pair
them. Finally, click Start Assessment to begin!
Pausing a Session
You can pause a screening session if needed, for example, if a student feels sick, has to
leave early, or if there’s an interruption like a fire drill.
If you pause during the universal screener, results will be saved for all tasks that were
completed before pausing. To resume, re-launch the universal screener. If a task was in
progress you paused, that task will restart from the beginning.
The platform automatically presents directions, practice items, and assessment items
using audio and visual effects. It also automatically scores children’s responses for several
tasks and calculates all scores and results.
● If a child doesn’t answer or says they don’t know an answer, encourage them to
answer one time before scoring or moving on.
● Language variation is normal and should not be penalized. Use the Administrator
Guides for Language Variation available in the platform’s Resources page to help
with scoring.
Tasks
Expressive Vocabulary
LANGUAGE - VOCABULARY
Overview
Scoring
Rhinoceros Rhino
IF A CHILD… THEN…
Responds in another language Say: Can you tell me what this is called in
English?
Describes or discusses a picture but does Say: Thank you. And what is it called?
not name it
Overview
Practice
Can the child name all the objects independently?
YES NO
Proceed to the Correct any errors right away. Tell them the name of any they
assessment misnamed or didn’t name. After the child finishes the page say:
Tell me what all of these are one more time.
Proceed to the Correct tracking errors right away and show them what to do.
assessment Then Proceed to the assessment.
Administration + Scoring
Press Start Timer. Objects will appear on the child’s screen, and they will name them as
quickly as they can.
Press Stop Timer when the child names the last object on the page. This will stop the
timer.
IF A CHILD… THEN…
Makes a second tracking error The timer will keep running. Interrupt and
quickly redirect them to the right spot.
Overview
Practice
Can the child name all the letters independently?
YES NO
Proceed to the Correct any errors right away. Tell them the name of any they
assessment misnamed or didn’t name. After the child finishes the page say:
Tell me what all of these are one more time.
Proceed to the Correct tracking errors right away and show them what to do.
assessment Then Proceed to the assessment.
Administration + Scoring
Press Start Timer. Letters will appear on the child’s screen, and they will name them as
quickly as they can.
Press Stop Timer when the child names the last letter on the page. This will stop the
timer.
IF A CHILD… THEN…
Makes a second tracking error The timer will keep running. Interrupt and
quickly redirect them to the right spot.
Overview
Administration + Scoring
Press Start Timer. Letters will appear on the child’s screen, and they will have 45 seconds
to name as many as they can.
The letters will disappear from the child’s screen when time runs out.
IF A CHILD… THEN…
Finishes in less than 45 seconds Press STOP TIMER. Select the last letter
they named.
Overview
Administration + Scoring
Press Start Timer. Letters will appear on the child’s screen, and they will have 45 seconds
to say the sounds of as many letters as they can.
The letters will disappear from the child’s screen when time runs out.
IF A CHILD… THEN…
Says the name instead of a sound Remind them once during the
assessment: Remember, tell me the
sounds.
Finishes in less than 45 seconds Press Stop Timer. Select the last letter
they named.
e /e/ get he
o /o/ got go
c /k/ cat
/s/ nice
g /g/ goat
/j/ page
Elision - Receptive
PHONOLOGICAL AWARENESS
Overview
DESCRIPTION Children are shown three pictures, which are named for them.
Then, they listen to a word. They take away part of the word
and choose the picture that shows what’s left.
Scoring
Responses are automatically scored when a child taps a picture.
IF A CHILD… THEN…
Doesn’t respond or says: I don’t know Encourage them one time. If they still
don’t choose an answer, click
Asks to hear an item again or talks while Replay the item one time.
an item is playing
Word Reading
READING + SPELLING - DECODING
Overview
Scoring
Reads the word smoothly and completely.
It’s okay if they sound it out first, as long as they eventually
read the whole word smoothly.
IF A CHILD… THEN…
Uses letter-sound associations from a Ask once during the assessment: Can you
different language read it in English?
Sounds out the word but doesn’t ever say Ask once during the assessment: Can you
the whole word smoothly put it together?
Spelling
READING + SPELLING - SPELLING
Overview
Scoring
Responses are automatically scored when a child finishes spelling a word and taps the
arrow.
IF A CHILD… THEN…
Doesn’t respond or says: I don’t know Encourage them one time. If they still
don’t choose an answer, click
Asks to hear an item again or talks while Replay the item one time.
an item is playing
Sentence Repetition
LANGUAGE - ORAL LANGUAGE
Overview
Scoring
Tap a word if child repeats that word, exactly as it appeared in
the sentence
The goal was The blue team Transpositions Only tap words that
scored by the scored the goal. are repeated in the
blue team. correct order.
The _ _ scored _ _ _ _
The team that The team that win Change in verb Don’t tap on the
won was given a was given a trophy. tense. word(s) said in a
trophy. different tense.
Changes in verb tense
are considered
incorrect.
IF A CHILD… THEN…
Doesn’t respond or says: I don’t know Encourage them. If they still don’t
choose an answer, click
Responds to or discusses the sentence, Remind them to repeat what they heard.
instead of repeating it Then, score whatever they can
remember.
Viewing Results
Click on Results in the upper navigation bar. This will open to class-level results for the
universal screener, displaying one language at a time – English or Spanish.
To see student-level results, click on a student’s name. It will open to the English
Universal Screener results page for that student.
Here, you will see the results for all tasks the student did, in any language. This
includes both the universal screener and any follow-up assessment. If you want to save
the file and share it via email, make sure to select Save as PDF as your destination.
Note that your print interface may look different from the one shown here.
Tech Requirements
● School IT departments must ensure that certain web services (URLs) are enabled,
sometimes called “whitelisted.” If a critical service is blocked, test administrators
and children might experience issues, like images not showing up or audio not
playing. If this happens, please contact your school’s IT support for help.
● Wi-Fi strength can impact how quickly images load and audio plays. Test
administrators can do a test run of the Multitudes platform in the location(s) they
will be screening to make sure it works properly. A testing playground for
Multitudes is provided during account set up.
● Make sure all devices and Safari or Chrome web browsers are updated to the latest
versions.
● Avoid pressing buttons too quickly or repeatedly, as this can cause the platform to
freeze.
For additional technical support, click the Support button on the Multitudes platform.
You can send a message to the school success team and review additional trouble
shooting tips.
Student educational records are protected under FERPA. As an education and healthcare
institution, we comply with all FERPA requirements. The Multitudes web application
follows a security and data privacy plan approved by UCSF. Here are some key security
requirements, as defined by the NIST Special Publication 800-171, that show how the
Multitudes platform protects children’s privacy and confidentiality:
● Data is encrypted.