Marcello Medina

Investigating the Context of State-Level Policy Formation: A Case Study of Arizona’s Bilingual Education Legislation

This study presents the application of a set of concepts devised by Mitchell, Marshall, and Wirt (1985) for investigating the distinctive cultures of state educational policy-making. In this study, an interpretation of the events leading to the passage in 1984 of Arizona’s new bilingual education legislation is developed, primarily from interviews with key actors. The central question addressed is whether a more comprehensive or mandatory law could have been achieved in Arizona.

English Acquisition by Fluent-and Limited-Spanish-Proficient Mexican Americans in a 3-Year Maintenance Bilingual Program

The primary purpose of this study was to determine the longitudinal impact of a maintenance bilingual education (MBE) program on the development of English (L2) for four groups of native Spanish-speaking students with varying degrees of Spanish oral proficiency who were all limited English proficient (LEP). Program participants were Mexican-American children in grades K-2. These subjects were divided into two major study groups, those considered fluent Spanish proficient (FSP; n = 111) and those who were limited Spanish proficient (LSP; n = 187). Two subgroups selected from the major groups (FSP program participants who were most fluent in Spanish, n = 45, and LSP participants who were most limited, n = 120) were also analyzed. Changes in L2 proficiency for the two major groups and the two subgroups were examined over the same 3-year span (1984-1987). Overall results from this MBE study demonstrated acquisition of statistically significant levels of English for all subjects. The most significant development was found for those subjects who were most limited in Spanish proficiency at the kindergarten level.

Native and Spanish Language Proficiency in a Bilingual Education Program

ABSTRACT The purpose of this study was to examine the Spanish learning outcomes for two linguistically different groups of limited English proficient (LEP) Hispanic subjects in a bilingual program. One linguistic group consisted of fluent Spanish speakers (n = 274), and the other group consisted of nonfluent Spanish speakers (n = 88) as determined by a measure of oral Spanish proficiency. The groups participated in a Grade 1 through 8 maintenance bilingual education (MBE) program during the 1985–86 school year. Spanish reading and mathematics achievement were analyzed independently, in relation to the tests state norms (based on the population from Texas) for each linguistically different group, for three grade clusters including primary (1–3), intermediate (4–6), and junior high (7–8) grades. Obtained data indicate that both groups performed at or above the tests Texas norms for 11 of 12 gradecluster comparisons for either Spanish reading or mathematics achievement. In addition, five of six significant...

Reliability and Validity of the Cooperative Preschool Inventory for English- and Spanish-Speaking Hispanic Children

The internal consistency reliability, concurrent validity, and stability of the Cooperative Preschool Inventory in English and Spanish editions were examined for monolingual-English and monolingual-Spanish Hispanic preschool pupils. The findings supported the reliability, validity, and stability of both editions as well as the comparability of both editions.

Spanish Achievement in a Maintenance Bilingual Education Program: Language Proficiency, Grade and Gender Comparisons.

The purpose of this study was to examine the mediational effects of a students fluent or limited Spanish proficiency and gender across selected grade levels on Spanish achievement in a maintenance bilingual education (MBE) program. Reading and mathematics achievement for grades 1-8 were examined for 676 subjects, while achievement in social studies and science across grades 2-8 was investigated for 518 subjects. The overall results indicated the following: (1) fluent Spanish proficient (FSP) subjects consistently outperformed their limited Spanish proficient (LSP) counterparts for each of the four subtests; (2) girls achieved significantly higher reading scores than boys, but no gender differences were noted for the other three subtests; and (3) 16 of the 18 grade mean scores were equal to or significantly above the Texas norms of La Prueba, while two were significantly below that level.

Initial Language Proficiency and Bilingual Reading Achievement in a Transitional Bilingual Educational Program

Abstract The purpose of this study was to compare reading achievement outcomes for two groups of Mexican American students (Spanish- dominant N = 25; English-dominant N = 118). The Spanish- dominant, limited English proficient subjects participated in a transitional bilingual education (TBE) program and the English- dominant subjects in a traditional English program for grades one through three. The study’s second objective was to determine the impact of the experimentals’ exposure to the TBE program by examining their Spanish and English reading achievement. The experimental subjects outperformed the comparison group on second grade vocabulary while no differences emerged for reading comprehension. It was noted that experimental subjects developed English proficiency in reading at an earlier grade than expected and maintained Spanish reading achievement above national norms. The theoretical and empirical implications of these findings are also discussed.

Factorial Validity of the Cooperative Preschool Inventory for English- and Spanish-Speaking Hispanic Children

ABSTRACT The Cooperative Preschool Inventory (CPI) in both English and Spanish was administered to preschool Hispanic children who were monolingual in either English or Spanish. Subscales were factor-analyzed separately. When the factors were compared using coefficients of congruence, we concluded that both measures appeared to assess the same underlying construct.