Reading and Math Outcomes of Randomly Selected Majority Culture Students Participating in an Elective, Parent Choice, Full Academic Content Area Spanish Immersion Program

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<p> The purpose of this study is to determine the reading and math outcomes of randomly selected majority culture students participating in an elective, parent choice, full academic content area Spanish Immersion Program kindergarten through fifth-grade compared to randomly selected same school control majority culture students participating in a traditional academic content area English only program kindergarten through fifth-grade. Study results indicate that posttest ending third-grade NWEA MAP-Reading Test Scores <i> M</i> = 196.02 (<i>SD</i> = 46.18) compared to post-posttest ending fifth-grade NWEA MAP-Reading Test Scores <i>M</i> = 227.07 (<i>SD</i> = 9.58) following kindergarten through fifth-grade participation in an elective, parent choice, full academic content area Spanish Immersion Program was statistically significantly different rejecting the null hypothesis in the direction of improved NWEA MAP-Reading Test Scores where dependent <i> t</i>(39) = 4.05, <i>p</i> &lt; .001 (two-tailed), <i> ES</i> = 1.11. Furthermore, posttest ending third-grade NWEA MAP-Math Test Scores <i>M</i> = 197.42 (<i>SD</i> = 46.22) compared to post-posttest ending fifth-grade NWEA MAP-Math Test Scores <i>M</i> = 238.72 (<i>SD</i> = 14.70) following kindergarten through fifth-grade participation in an elective, parent choice, full academic content area Spanish Immersion Program was statistically significantly different rejecting the null hypothesis in the direction of improved NWEA MAP-Math Test Scores where dependent <i>t</i>(39) = 4.99, <i>p</i> &lt; .0001 (two-tailed), <i> ES</i> = 1.35. Students who participated in a traditional standard of care academic content area English only program serving as a control group also made statistically significant reading and math gains over time. Between group post-posttest ending fifth-grade NWEA MAP-Reading Test Scores for students in an elective, parent choice, full academic content area Spanish Immersion Program compared to post-posttest ending fifth-grade NWEA MAP-Reading Test Scores for students in a traditional standard of care academic content area English only program were statistically significantly different rejecting the null hypothesis in the direction of greater post-posttest NWEA MAP-Reading Test Scores for students in an elective, parent choice, full academic content area Spanish Immersion Program where independent <i>t</i>(78) = 3.22, <i>p</i> &lt; .01 (two-tailed), <i>ES</i> = 0.73. However, the null hypothesis was not rejected for the between group post-posttest NWEA MAP-Math Test Scores comparison indicating statistical equipoise where independent <i>t</i>(78) = 1.63, <i>p</i> = .107 (two-tailed), <i> ES</i> = 0.40. It is clear from the study results that students participating in the programs of this research are making significant academic progress as measured by norm-referenced reading and math test results over time, third-grade to fifth-grade. It is also remarkable that students who are learning basic skills at the elementary level in a second language, Spanish, are doing so at an observed above grade level pace suggesting that they will be ready for middle school English and math coursework with an advanced promise of success in future second language, Spanish, coursework as well.</p>

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Identifer	oai:union.ndltd.org:PROQUEST/oai:pqdtoai.proquest.com:3687022
Date	01 April 2015
Creators	Rega, Matt K.
Publisher	University of Nebraska at Omaha
Source Sets	ProQuest.com
Language	English
Detected Language	English
Type	thesis