The school beginner is expected to be able to follow the language of directions and explanations. Navajo children who enter school essentially monolingual in Navajo and shortly have to accomplish school learning tasks in English may face a double handicap if they have not yet labelled in Navajo the concepts needed in beginning English school work.
Measurement of school related concepts in Navajo was attempted by means of a translation of the Boehm Test of Basic Concepts, a test developed from analysis of early school language requirements. It was assumed that the semantic content of such basic concepts is universal, and that vocabulary and syntax in which to express them would be available in Navajo
