This study examined the relationship between oral language proficiency and the minimum competency tests scores of third and fifth grade LEP students in Palm Beach County, Florida, who took the state competency tests. Language proficiency was measured by the score of students on the Language Assessment Scales I (LAS-I)@ and its five subscales (Minimal Pairs, Phonemes, Lexical, Comprehension and Production). Competency test performance was operationalized as the scores of the students on the three Florida State System Assessment Test I (SSAT-I) components (Reading, Writing, and Mathematics). / The analysis of the data showed that oral language proficiency, as assessed by the LAS-I, and minimum competency tests, as assessed by the SSAT-I, were related but the strength of the relationship varied from grade to grade and from one SSAT-I component to another. In general, the composite LAS had a stronger relationship with third grade reading than with fifth grade reading, while its relationship with writing was stronger in fifth grade than in third grade. The relationship between the composite LAS and Mathematics was weak in both grades. / The strength of the relationship of the LAS-I subscales differed also from one grade to the other. For the third grade, Minimal Pairs had the highest correlation of all the subscales with the SSAT subtests; Production, Lexicon, Comprehension, and Phonology followed, in that order, in terms of the strength of their relationships with the SSAT subtests. For the fifth grade, Lexicon had the highest correlation of all the subscales with the SSAT subtests with Production, Phonology, Minimal Pairs, and Comprehension subscales following in that order. Finally, the analysis showed that certain subsystems, especially Minimal Pairs in third grade and Lexicon in fifth grade, had a strong relationship with the SSAT subtests even after controlling for the relationship of the composite LAS. Thus, it suggested that, although oral language proficiency does influence the students' ability to master the minimum competencies successfully, different combinations of the LAS subscales may be needed for different grades or test to capture its full impact on the SSAT test achievement of the students. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 47-07, Section: A, page: 2441. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1986.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:fsu.edu/oai:fsu.digital.flvc.org:fsu_75865 |
| Contributors | SPINTHOURAKIS, JULIA ATHENA., Florida State University |
| Source Sets | Florida State University |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Text |
| Format | 213 p. |
| Rights | On campus use only. |
| Relation | Dissertation Abstracts International |
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