ERIC Number: ED269966
Record Type: Non-Journal
Publication Date: 1985
Pages: 66
Abstractor: N/A
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
Language Factors and Hispanic Freshmen's Student Profiles. College Board Report No. 85-3.
Duran, Richard P.; And Others
This study investigated the role of language factors as potential determinants of Hispanics' educational progress. Language background factors included exposure to, use of, and proficiency in both Spanish and English, and the students' perceptions of those factors. They were studied in relation to standardized measures of college aptitude and achievement. Data were drawn from a survey of Hispanic freshmen in 17 four-year colleges. The information gathered related to language background and high school academic experiences, employment and extracurricular activities in high school, educational aspirations, family background, college entrance examination scores, place of birth, language usage, bilingual education, proficiency in English and Spanish, and academic interactions in college. Correlations were made between survey responses and test scores. The principal findings were that: a large number of questions not included in the College Board's Student Descriptive Questionnaire (SDQ) were more highly related to test scores than the existing SDQ question relating to language use; questions probing language preference and self-ratings of English proficiency were the best predictors of verbal test scores; many language survey questions improved prediction of test scores by ten points or more when combined with the existing SDQ question; and the importance of the questions in prediction varied by language group, with survey questions being most important for Puerto Ricans. Appendices contain a general outline of communication skills and the survey instrument and accompanying materials. (MSE)
Descriptors: Academic Achievement, Bilingual Education, College Entrance Examinations, College Freshmen, English (Second Language), Family Characteristics, Hispanic Americans, Language Dominance, Language Proficiency, Language Skills, Predictor Variables, Puerto Ricans, Questionnaires, Spanish Speaking, Standardized Tests, Student Characteristics, Student Educational Objectives, Test Results
College Board Publications, Box 886, New York, NY 10101 ($5.00).
Publication Type: Reports - Research; Tests/Questionnaires
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: College Entrance Examination Board, New York, NY.
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A