The purpose of this study was to obtain data from the PPVT-R scores of low and middle SES black kindergartners in the Portland area to determine if there is a difference between their scores and the scores reported in the PPVT-R. The primary question to be answered was do the scores of black kindergartners in Portland vary significantly dependent upon SES? The secondary questions this study sought to answer were: what are the means, standard deviations, and ranges of scores for black kindergartners in Portland and what are the means, standard deviations, and ranges for each two-month age group of black kindergartners in Portland?

Normal phonological development is characterized by phonological processes in preschool children. These processes are sound error patterns, in relation to the adult target, that are expected within the speech of normally developing children. As children grow older, they "outgrow" these developmental errors. Within the black English dialect, speakers may use a combination of these processes and not be considered phonologically impaired within their linguistic community. The purpose of this study was to assess and compare phonological process usage in the speech of lower socioeconomic black and white preschoolers. The APP-R in conjunction with the CAPP was administered to two groups of 15 children to determine if significant differences exist in the usage of phonological processes between the two groups. Group 1 was comprised of 15 black preschoolers from an inner-city preschool program. Group 2 was comprised of 15 white preschoolers from a Headstart program. All children were identified by their respective speech-language pathologist as having normally developing speech for their linguistic community. Data analysis revealed black preschoolers used phonological processes with a higher frequency than white preschoolers. The phonological process usage mean for the black preschoolers was 4.26% (SD = 1.94) and the mean for the white preschoolers was 1.71% (SD = 2.86). Three of the ten basic processes were determined to be significantly different between the two groups, including: consonant sequence omission, strident deviation, and velar deviation. The results were further examined to determine if either group of preschoolers was identified as needing phonological remediation based on their performance on the APP-R. None of the subjects in either group was identified as needing phonological remediation. In conclusion, results indicated black English speaking preschoolers did use significantly more phonological processes in their speech, however, the APP-R did not identify these children as needing phonological remediation. These results demonstrate the APP-R to be an appropriate assessment tool when evaluating the speech of this Portland black English speaking sample.

The problem with which this investigation is concerned is that of determining the ability of economically disadvantaged black children to comprehend a specific grammatical operation, the non-identity requirement of pronominalization. In addition, the study is also concerned with describing selected characteristics of the language of the subjects in the study through the utilization of a task of imitation. The subjects of the study were forty-eight black children who were between the ages of four and ten years. All subjects were from families in which the natural parents were living together in the same household. The parents and children were native residents of the area and were recipients of federal welfare aid. None of the subjects in the study had histories of physiological, psychological, neurological, or auditory problems, and none were presently enrolled in rehabilitative language programs. A general estimate of intelligence was provided by the administration of the Columbia Mental Maturity Scale.

This study examined factors related to how the interactive behaviors of a group of Black kindergarten children, as demonstrated within the social organization of the classroom, may be related to reading readiness achievement outcomes. Cultural differences in language use, the demands for cooperation in mainstream schools, and established patterns of social interaction were examined as reasons for differential outcomes among blacks. Verbal and non-verbal forms of expression and social interactions, as displayed by students and teacher in the classroom, are related to whether students gain access to participation structures and, therefore, learning opportunities. In this ethnographic study participant observation was the method used to collect data. In the research classroom, linguistic form was not a factor in gaining access to participation strucures. This study suggests, however, that access to reading information was limited to competent students who complied with social and academic demands to gain access to participation structures operating in crucial lesson segments and, therefore, learning opportunities. / Ed. D.