The differential predictive validity of the Spanish and English versions of the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test

• Main Author: Smalley, Judith Ellen
• Format: Others
• Published: Scholarly Commons 1995
• Subjects: Bilingual education; Multicultural education; Educational evaluation; Language arts; Education; vocabulary tests
• Online Access: https://scholarlycommons.pacific.edu/uop_etds/2797; https://scholarlycommons.pacific.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=3796&context=uop_etds

The purpose of this study was to determine the predictive validity of the Spanish and English versions of the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test for entering limited English proficient (LEP) Spanish and monolingual English kindergarten students. The criterion was reading achievement as measured by the Total Reading subtest of the Comprehensive Tests of Basic Skills (CTBS) and the Spanish Assessment of Basic Education (SABE). In addition, percentage of instructional time in Spanish was examined as a variable which may combine with the vocabulary scores to predict achievement for the Spanish speaking students. Selected for the study were 355 monolingual English speaking and 208 monolingual Spanish-speaking kindergarten students from a single district in central California. The LEP students included were those who scored a "one," no English, on the Bilingual Syntax Measure (BSM) upon entering kindergarten. Students included in the study were selected over 3 school years and 25 kindergarten teachers. Ninety percent of the district's students were on free or reduced cost lunch. The results of this study indicate there is a statistically significant relationship between entering kindergarten students' vocabulary scores and end of the first grade reading achievement but the vocabulary scores differentially predict achievement for the Spanish and English students. English speaking students scored significantly higher in reading achievement than Spanish-speaking students. The amount of time spent instructing in Spanish during the first grade combines with the students' language and vocabulary scores for a greater increment in the prediction of reading achievement. LEP Spanish-speaking students instructed more than 75% of the time in Spanish at the first grade level scored significantly higher in reading achievement than those instructed less than 75% of the time.