ERIC Number: EJ1247768
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2020-Apr
Pages: 17
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0014-4029
EISSN: N/A
Can Difficulties in Language Acquisition and Specific Learning Disabilities Be Separated among English Learners?
Swanson, H. Lee; Kong, Jennifer; Petcu, Stefania D.; Asencio Pimentel, Monica Fiorella
Exceptional Children, v86 n3 p293-309 Apr 2020
This study investigated the prevalence of latent classes at risk for reading or math disabilities in elementary-age children whose first language is Spanish. To this end, children (N = 394) in Grades 1, 2, and 3 were administered a battery of vocabulary, reading, math, and cognitive measures in both Spanish and English. Three important findings occurred. First, five latent classes emerged (average achievers, poor achievers, reading disabled, English language learners, Spanish-dominant achievers) that varied in language and achievement scores. Second, probability estimates indicated that 10% of the total sample was at risk for learning disabilities (below cutoff score), and approximately 40% of the sample reflected a language acquisition group not at risk for academic difficulties. Finally, the best model for correctly predicting the odds of latent classes differing from average achievers included English measures of short-term memory, naming speed, and the executive component of working memory. The results support the notion that statistically distinct latent classes emerge under the umbrella of children identified as English learners and that children at risk for specific learning disabilities can be separated among a heterogeneous sample of children who are acquiring English as a second language.
Descriptors: Incidence, At Risk Students, Learning Disabilities, Reading Skills, Mathematics Skills, Grade 1, Grade 2, Grade 3, Elementary School Students, English Language Learners, Academic Achievement, Low Achievement, Reading Difficulties, Cognitive Ability, Short Term Memory, Executive Function, Naming, Vocabulary
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Early Childhood Education; Elementary Education; Grade 1; Primary Education; Grade 2; Grade 3
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: National Science Foundation (NSF), Division of Research on Learning in Formal and Informal Settings (DRL)
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Assessments and Surveys: Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test; Woodcock Munoz Language Survey; Woodcock Johnson Tests of Achievement; Raven Progressive Matrices; Conners Teacher Rating Scale
Grant or Contract Numbers: DRL1660828