"Education, Faculty of"@en . "Educational and Counselling Psychology, and Special Education (ECPS), Department of"@en . "DSpace"@en . "UBCV"@en . "McQuarrie, Maureen Anne"@en . "2010-09-02T18:29:16Z"@en . "1988"@en . "Master of Arts - MA"@en . "University of British Columbia"@en . "[No Abstract Submitted]"@en . "https://circle.library.ubc.ca/rest/handle/2429/28171?expand=metadata"@en . "AN EMPIRICAL VALIDITY STUDY OF THE CANADA FRENCH INDIVIDUAL ACHIEVEMENT TEST By MAUREEN ANNE MCQUARRIE B.A., The University of British Columbia, 1978 P.D.P. Simon Fraser University, 1980. A THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS OF THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARTS in Department of Educational Psychology and Special Education We accept this thesis as conforming to the required standard THE UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA October 1988 O Maureen Anne McQuarrie, 1988 In presenting this thesis in partial fulfilment of the requirements for an advanced degree at the University of British Columbia, I agree that the Library shall make it freely available for reference and study. I further agree that permission for extensive copying of this thesis for scholarly purposes may be granted by the head of my department or by his or her representatives. It is understood that copying or publication of this thesis for financial gain shall not be allowed without my written permission. The University of British Columbia Vancouver, Canada DE-6 (2/88) i i TABLE OF CONTENTS Page CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION . 1 BACKGROUND TO THE PROBLEM 1 ACHIEVEMENT TESTS USED FOR FRENCH IMMERSION RESEARCH 3 STANDARDS AND REQUIREMENTS FOR EDUCATIONAL TESTS -. 5 THE CANADA FRENCH INDIVIDUAL ACHIEVEMENT TEST 8 DEFINITION OF TERMS 9 ASSUMPTIONS OF THE STUDY 10 CHAPTER I I : REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE 12 CHAPTER I I I : METHODOLOGY 25 THE SAMPLE 25 TEST ADMINISTRATORS 26 EMPIRICAL VALIDITY 2 6 GRADE TWO VALIDATION . . . . 27 GRADE FIVE VALIDATION . 28 CODING . 28 CHAPTER IV: RESULTS 30 THE SAMPLE 30 DATA ANALYSIS 34 GRADE TWO RESULTS 34 GRADE FIVE RESULTS 39 GRADE FIVE SPELLING 4 6 GRADE FIVE ARITHMETIC . . 4 9 GRADE FIVE WORD IDENTIFICATION 4 9 GRADE FIVE PASSAGE COMPREHENSION 54 EMPIRICAL VALIDATION 54 CHAPTER V: SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS 62 SUMMARY 62 LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY 65 DIRECTIONS FOR FUTURE RESEARCH 66 REFERENCES 68 APPENDIX A 77 PROCEDURE FOR DISTRIBUTING PERMISSION FORMS FOR THE VALIDITY PHASE OF THE CANADA F.I.A.T. 7 8 PARENT CONSENT FORM . . . . . 81 i i i LIST OF TABLES TABLE Page 1. OBTAINED AND DESIRED SAMPLE S I Z E FOR GRADES 2 AND 5 31 2. GRADE 2 NON-REMEDIAL AND REMEDIAL SAMPLE S I Z E PROCESSED FOR EACH VARIABLE 32 3. GRADE 5 NON-REMEDIAL AND REMEDIAL CASES PROCESSED FOR EACH VARIABLE 33 4. GRADE 2 MEANS, STANDARD DEVIATIONS, CORRELATIONS AND R E L I A B I L I T I E S FOR REMEDIAL AND NON-REMEDIAL STUDENTS 35 5. GRADE 2 INTERNAL CONSISTENCY R E L I A B I L I T I E S FOR REMEDIAL GROUP 37 6. GRADE 2 INTERNAL CONSISTENCY R E L I A B I L I T I E S FOR NON-REMEDIAL GROUP 38 7. GRADE 2 DISCRIMINANT ANALYSIS 40 8. GRADE 2 C L A S S I F I C A T I O N RESULTS 41 9. . GRADE 5 MEANS, STANDARD DEVIATIONS, CORRELATIONS AND R E L I A B I L I T I E S FOR REMEDIAL AND NON-REMEDIAL STUDENTS 42 10. GRADE 5 MEANS AND STANDARD DEVIATIONS CALCULATED INDEPENDENTLY FOR EACH SUBTEST . 43 11 . GRADE 5 INTERNAL CONSISTENCY R E L I A B I L I T I E S FOR REMEDIAL GROUP 44 12. GRADE 5 INTERNAL CONSISTENCY R E L I A B I L I T I E S FOR NON-REMEDIAL GROUP 45 13. GRADE 5 WILKS' LAMBDA (U-STATISTIC) AND UNIVARIATE F-RAT 10 WITH 1 AND 47 DEGREES OF FREEDOM 47 14. 15. S P E L L I N G GRADE 5 C L A S S I F I C A T I O N RESULTS . . 48 GRADE 5 ARITHMETIC 13 WILKS 1 LAMBDA (U-STATISTIC) AND UNIVARIATE F-RATIO 50 i v 1 6 . G R A D E 5 A R I T H M E T I C C L A S S I F I C A T I O N R E S U L T S . 5 1 1 7 . G R A D E 5 WORD I D E N T I F I C A T I O N W I L K S 1 L A M B D A (TJ-S T A T I S T I C ) A N D U N I V A R I A T E F - R A T I O W I T H 1 A N D 5 6 D E G R E E S O F F R E E D O M 5 2 1 8 . C L A S S I F I C A T I O N R E S U L T S 5 3 1 9 . G R A D E 5 W I L K S \" L A M B D A ( U - S T A T I S T I C ) A N D U N I V A R I A T E F - R A T I O W I T H 1 A N D 4 6 D E G R E E S OF \u00E2\u0080\u00A2 F R E E D O M 5 5 2 0 . G R A D E 5 W I L K S ' L A M B D A ( U - S T A T I S T I C ) A N D U N I V A R I A T E F - R A T I O W I T H 1 A N D 34 D E G R E E S O F F R E E D O M 5 6 2 1 . G R A D E 5 D I S C R I M I N A N T A N A L Y S I S 5 7 2 2 . G R A D E 5 S P E L L I N G , A R I T H M E T I C , WORD I D E N T I F I C A T I O N , P A S S A G E C O M P R E H E N S I O N . . . . 5 8 t CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION BACKGROUND TO THE PROBLEM From the o r i g i n s of the f i r s t French immersion p r o j e c t , the St. Lambert experiment i n Montreal (1962), a m u l t i t u d e of i n v e s t i g a t i o n s have emerged as educators, parents and r e s e a r c h e r s seek t o understand the r a m i f i c a t i o n s of t h i s approach t o second language l e a r n i n g . Cummins (1983) , contends t h a t , \"the r e s e a r c h has p l a y e d a c r u c i a l r o l e both i n the spread of French immersion programs across Canada and i n e s t a b l i s h i n g the Canadian experiment as one of the most s i g n i f i c a n t i n n o v a t i o n s i n second language t e a c h i n g i n t h i s c e ntury.\" I f Cummins' c o n t e n t i o n holds t r u e , the r e s e a r c h has had a tremendous e f f e c t i n B r i t i s h Columbia where, as of September 1986, 101 of i t s elementary schools o f f e r e d French immersion programs, educating 13,722 of B r i t i s h Columbia's elementary school p o p u l a t i o n . ( B r i t i s h Columbia S t a t i s t i c s , 1987). Cummins (1983), has o u t l i n e d the four c e n t r a l i s s u e s i n French immersion r e s e a r c h as the c o g n i t i v e and academic e f f e c t s of immersion, the e f f e c t s o f i n t e n s i t y o f language two exposure on language one and 2 language two development, the r e l a t i v e advantages of e a r l y versus l a t e immersion, and the s u i t a b i l i t y of immersion f o r a l l students p a r t i c u l a r l y those w i t h l e a r n i n g d i f f i c u l t i e s . The present study focuses on academic achievement and French immersion. The academic achievement of immersion students as opposed t o t h e i r E n g l i s h \" c o u n t e r p a r t s \" i s one o f the e a r l i e s t and most s i g n i f i c a n t q uestions t h a t r e s e a r c h e r s have i n v e s t i g a t e d . The q u e s t i o n of whether i t i s p o s s i b l e t o produce l i n g u i s t i c a l l y competent students who are a l s o a c a d e m i c a l l y competent needed an unambiguous answer b e f o r e educators, parents, and ad m i n i s t e r s were w i l l i n g t o jump on the French immersion bandwagon. Before examining some of the p e r t i n e n t s t u d i e s r e l a t e d t o academic achievement i n French immersion, i t i s c r u c i a l t o review the metho d o l o g i c a l d i f f i c u l t i e s a s s o c i a t e d with c r o s s - c u l t u r a l / c r o s s - l i n g u a l r e s e a r c h . Included i n the problems a s s o c i a t e d with t h i s type o f r e s e a r c h are d e f i n i n g the v a r i a b l e b i l i n g u a l i s m , c o n t r o l l i n g f o r socioeconomic s t a t u s and IQ, comparing a p r e - s e l e c t e d sample t o the gen e r a l s c h o o l p o p u l a t i o n , comparing two samples on the same outcome when the 3 c u r r i c u l a are not the same, and c o n t r o l l i n g f o r e d u c a t i o n a l s t i m u l a t i o n p r o v i d e d o u t s i d e of s c h o o l . ACHIEVEMENT TESTS USED FOR FRENCH IMMERSION RESEARCH One of the most l i m i t i n g o f meth o d o l o g i c a l d i f f i c u l t i e s t o t h i s k i n d of r e s e a r c h i s the l a c k of a p p r o p r i a t e i n s t r u m e n t a t i o n t o conduct the r e s e a r c h and thus p r o v i d e v a l i d f i n d i n g s i n t h i s approach t o second language l e a r n i n g . For example, the m a j o r i t y of i n v e s t i g a t i o n s t h a t have o c c u r r e d i n On t a r i o and Quebec, (Barik & Swain 197 6, Cummins 1983, Lambert & Pe a l 1962) have used the f o l l o w i n g i n s t r u m e n t a t i o n : 1. Test de Rendement en F r a n c a i s ; a s t a n d a r d i z e d s e r i e s of achievement t e s t s normed on the n a t i v e French speaking p o p u l a t i o n of Montreal, (Andrew et a l . 1980, B a r i k & Swain 1975, Bruck et a l . 1973, Genesee 1976, Lapkin et a l . 1971). 2. Test de l e c t u r e \" C a l i f o r n i a \" (1967); a s t a n d a r d i z e d r e a d i n g comprehension t e s t f o r n a t i v e French speaking students. 3. Test de Mots a Trouver; an unstandardized c l o z e t e s t , (Andrew et a l . 1980, Carey & Cummins 1983, Lapkin et a l . 1981, Swain & Lapkin 1977). -T r a n s l a t i o n s of s t a n d a r d i z e d measures of achievement, e.g. the M e t r o p o l i t a n Achievement Test. American s t a n d a r d i z e d c o g n i t i v e t e s t ; Lorge-Thorndike I n t e l l i g e n c e T e s t s , O t i s Lennon Mental A b i l i t y Test, Peabody P i c t u r e Vocabulary Test, Wechsler I n t e l l i g e n c e Scale f o r C h i l d r e n Revised, (Barik & Swain 1976, Cummins 1977, Lambert & Tucker 1972, P e a l and Lambert 1962) . Canadian and American s t a n d a r d i z e d achievement t e s t s ; The Canadian Test of B a s i c S k i l l s , M e t r o p o l i t a n Achievement Test, (Andrew et a l . 1980, B a r i k & Swain 1978, B a r i k et a l . 1974, Crawford 1984, Genesee 1976) . Techniques such as t a p i n g c h i l d r e n ' s i n t e r v i e w s and s t o r y t e l l i n g , (Edwards & C a s s e r l y 1976, Genesee 1976, Genesee et a l . 1977, Swain & Lapkin 1977, Tucker et a l . 1976). A n a l y s i s of composition w r i t t e n i n French, (Crawford 1984, Bruck et a l . 1975, Swain 1979). Other measures developed at the O n t a r i o I n s t i t u t e f o r Studies i n Education by the B i l i n g u a l E d u c a t i o n P r o j e c t , such- as: Test de L e c t u r e , Test de Comprehension de L ' E c r i t Marguerite Tourand. 5 None of the e a s t e r n r e s e a r c h has demonstrated the use of an i n d i v i d u a l l y a d m i n i s t e r e d achievement t e s t t h a t has been normed f o r the p a r t i c u l a r p o p u l a t i o n under i n v e s t i g a t i o n . In B r i t i s h Columbia's French immersion programs the most f r e q u e n t l y used achievement instruments are: 1. Tests developed by the Ont a r i o I n s t i t u t e f o r Studie s i n Educ a t i o n : Test de Le c t u r e , Marguerite Tourand Test Diagnostique de L e c t u r e . 2. E n g l i s h Achievement Measures such as the Canadian Test of B a s i c S k i l l s . Most s c h o o l d i s t r i c t s do not use any French measures of achievement and r e l y on the r e q u i r e d E n g l i s h Achievement t e s t i n g t h a t occurs p r o v i n c e wide e.g. Canadian Test of B a s i c S k i l l s . STANDARDS AND REQUIREMENTS FOR EDUCATIONAL TESTS In the n i n t h e d i t i o n of Mental Measures, O.K. Buros recommended t h a t when groups are to be compared with regard t o a v a r i a b l e i t i s i n a p p r o p r i a t e t o use a n a t i o n a l l y s t a n d a r d i z e d group t e s t , and t h a t when i n d i v i d u a l s ' performances are to be compared, i t i s d e s i r a b l e t o use an instrument t h a t has been l o c a l l y s t a n d a r d i z e d (1985). 6 A n a s t a s i (1976) warns t h a t because of the s p e c i f i c i t y of each c r i t e r i o n , t e s t users are u s u a l l y a d v i s e d t o check the v a l i d i t y of any chosen t e s t a g a i n s t l o c a l c r i t e r i a whenever p o s s i b l e . She claims t h a t , \" i n the absence of a d d i t i o n a l i n t e r p r e t i v e data, a raw score on any p s y c h o l o g i c a l t e s t i s meaningless. P s y c h o l o g i c a l t e s t are most commonly i n t e r p r e t e d by r e f e r e n c e t o norms ... the normals are thus e m p i r i c a l l y e s t a b l i s h e d by what a r e p r e s e n t a t i v e group of persons a c t u a l l y do on the t e s t \" (p.67). Tests used i n French immersion achievement r e s e a r c h do not have a p p r o p r i a t e norms and are thus a c c o r d i n g t o A n a s t a s i meaningless. Cronbach (1949) claims t h a t , \" t e s t s must be s e l e c t e d f o r the purpose and s i t u a t i o n f o r which they are t o be used . . . what t e s t s are p e r t i n e n t are t o be used depends on the i n s t r u c t i o n a l p l a n \" (p.151). The c u r r i c u l a or i n s t r u c t i o n a l p l a n of French immersion v a r i e s from the r e g u l a r E n g l i s h program, the r e g u l a r French program and American c u r r i c u l a . The a v a i l a b l e achievement t e s t s used have e i t h e r been c r e a t e d f o r the n a t i v e French speaking p o p u l a t i o n , the r e g u l a r E n g l i s h program p o p u l a t i o n or the American p o p u l a t i o n , thus the t e s t s used are not p e r t i n e n t a c c o r d i n g t o Cronbach. 7 Standards f o r E d u c a t i o n a l and P s y c h o l o g i c a l t e s t s , (1974) a d v i s e s t h a t the primary r e s p o n s i b i l i t y f o r the improvement of t e s t i n g continues t o r e s t on the shoulder of the t e s t user (p. 6). The c u r r e n t t e s t users have chosen t o use the aforementioned measures which l a c k the standards e s s e n t i a l t o a p p r o p r i a t e t e s t use. Holmes (1981) and Wormeli (1983) found t h a t the major source of e r r o r i s the use of t e s t s f o r which the v a l i d i t y i s unknown when a p p l i e d t o B r i t i s h Columbia's students, and t h a t the use of American s t a n d a r d i z e d t e s t s are i n a p p r o p r i a t e f o r B r i t i s h Columbia's stu d e n t s . As s t a t e d e a r l i e r (Cummins 1983), much of the spread of immersion i s due to the c u r r e n t r e s e a r c h i n French immersion, thus i t i s e s s e n t i a l t h a t the soundness of the r e s e a r c h be adequate. Adequate and sound r e s e a r c h i s ob t a i n e d by g a t h e r i n g data based on the a d m i n i s t r a t i o n of a p p r o p r i a t e measurement instruments. The i n s t r u m e n t a t i o n used t o i n v e s t i g a t e the e f f e c t s o f French immersion on achievement has not met the standards d e s c r i b e d by O.K. Buros (1985), A n a s t a s i (1976), Cronbach (1949), Standards f o r 8 E d u c a t i o n a l and P s y c h o l o g i c a l Tests, Wormeli (1984), and Holmes (1981). THE CANADA FRENCH INDIVIDUAL ACHIEVEMENT TEST In response t o the obvious need f o r a p p r o p r i a t e assessment i n s t r u m e n t a t i o n of B r i t i s h Columbia's French immersion p o p u l a t i o n , Wormeli and Ardanaz (1987) have developed the Canada French I n d i v i d u a l Achievement Test, ( F . I . A. T . ) . The F.I.A.T. i s an i n d i v i d u a l s c r e e n i n g instrument t h a t has been based on c u r r i c u l a and m a t e r i a l s i n g e n e r a l use i n French immersion programs across Canada. I t i s normed on a nationwide sample of elementary s c h o o l c h i l d r e n . The F.I.A.T. c o n t a i n s f o u r s u b t e s t s ; S p e l l i n g , Word I d e n t i f i c a t i o n , Passage Comprehension and A r i t h m e t i c t o screen students e n r o l l e d i n French immersion elementary programs. The purpose of the F.I.A.T. i s t o a l l o w the t e s t user: 1. to compare the French immersion p u p i l s ' performance to t h a t of other p u p i l s i n the same grade placement. 2. to i d e n t i f y those French immersion students whose scores d e v i a t e s u f f i c i e n t l y from the average of h i s or her peers to be regarded as abnormal. 9 3. to determine a p u p i l ' s performance by o b s e r v i n g t e s t performance and by t e s t i n g the l i m i t s of response made by the p u p i l . Wormeli and Ardanaz c r e a t e d the t e s t as an i n d i v i d u a l i z e d s c r e e n i n g t e s t and as an i n f o r m a l d i a g n o s t i c t o o l . I n v e s t i g a t i n g the v a l i d i t y of the t e s t i s the primary o b j e c t i v e of t h i s study. To t e s t the v a l i d i t y of t h i s t e s t , t h i s i n v e s t i g a t i o n w i l l determine the power of the F.I.A.T. t o d i f f e r e n t i a t e low a c h i e v i n g French immersion students from average or h i g h a c h i e v i n g French immersion students by a d m i n i s t e r i n g the F.I.A.T. to a sample of French immersion students r e c e i v i n g remedial i n s t r u c t i o n or those c o n s i d e r e d e l i g i b l e f o r remedial i n s t r u c t i o n and a sample not r e c e i v i n g remedial i n s t r u c t i o n . DEFINITION OF TERMS French immersion students are d e f i n e d as those students who have been e n r o l l e d i n t o t a l French immersion i n an elementary school i n B r i t i s h Columbia s i n c e K i n d e r g a r t e n or grade one and whose mother tongue i s E n g l i s h . Remedial French immersion students f u l f i l l the p r e v i o u s l y d e s c r i b e d s t i p u l a t i o n , but are r e c e i v i n g remedial i n s t r u c t i o n i n Reading, or S p e l l i n g or are 10 c o n s i d e r e d by t h e i r t e a c h e r to be e l i g i b l e f o r remedial i n s t r u c t i o n . A S S U M P T I O N S OP THE STUDY The present study assumes t h a t c o n d i t i o n s e x i s t i n g at the s t a r t of the time sequence w i l l e x i s t again a f t e r the study i s completed. I t assumes t h a t the sample i s t r u l y r e p r e s e n t a t i v e of the p o p u l a t i o n f o r which l a t e r i n f e r e n c e s w i l l be drawn. The sample i s p r e - s e l e c t e d as a l l French immersion p o p u l a t i o n s are. I t does not i n c l u d e any mentally handicapped or l e a r n i n g d i s a b l e d p o p u l a t i o n . The remedial sample i s s e l e c t e d from a p o p u l a t i o n d e f i n e d by teacher s e l e c t i o n and nonstandardized t e s t s . Chapter Two of the t h e s i s w i l l review the r e s e a r c h r e l a t e d t o the h i s t o r y of r e s e a r c h i n French immersion, achievement t e s t s used i n French immersion re s e a r c h , the methodological problems a s s o c i a t e d with French immersion r e s e a r c h and recommendations f o r a p p r o p r i a t e t e s t use. Chapter Three w i l l d e s c r i b e the sample, the methodology, i n c l u d i n g the consent forms, the t e s t a d m i n i s t r a t o r s , the t e s t a d m i n i s t r a t i o n and the e m p i r i c a l v a l i d i t y of the t e s t . 11 Chapter Four w i l l present and i n t e r p r e t the r e s u l t s of the data a n a l y s i s . Chapter F i v e w i l l summarize the f i n d i n g s , o f f e r c o n c l u s i o n s , suggest the p r a c t i c a l i m p l i c a t i o n s and p r o v i d e suggestions f o r f u t u r e r e s e a r c h . CHAPTER II REVIEW OP THE LITERATURE The p l e t h o r a of r e s e a r c h put f o r t h on the d i f f e r e n t e f f e c t s of French immersion educ a t i o n on Canadian students i s v a s t , yet c o n t r a d i c t o r y . The l i t e r a t u r e can be d i v i d e d h i s t o r i c a l l y ; the l i t e r a t u r e p u b l i s h e d between the years 1920-1960 and the l i t e r a t u r e p u b l i s h e d between 1960-present. The e a r l y r e s e a r c h , i s d i s t i n c t from the c u r r e n t r e s e a r c h ; p i o n e e r s of i n v e s t i g a t i o n s i n t o the e f f e c t s o f b i l i n g u a l i s m c o n s i s t e n t l y r e p o r t e d the d e t r i m e n t a l e f f e c t s of b i l i n g u a l i s m (Saer 1923, Smith 1923, S e i d l 1937, P i n t n e r & K e l l e r 1922, Darcy 1953) e.g. mental c o n f u s i o n , some even went so f a r as to conclude t h a t b i l i n g u a l i s m l e d to s p l i t p e r s o n a l i t i e s (Diehold 1965). Research t h a t o c c u r r e d d u r i n g t h i s p e r i o d focused on what Lambert (1975) r e f e r s t o as \" s u b t r a c t i v e b i l i n g u a l i s m , where the mother tongue i s a m i n o r i t y language and i s not deemed ' d e s i r a b l e ' or an 'upwardly mobile' language such as I r i s h , Welsh or Spanish. A d d i t i o n a l l y t h e r e are obvious d i s t i n c t i o n s i n the p o p u l a t i o n s s t u d i e d d u r i n g the two time p e r i o d s ; i . e . the g e o g r a p h i c a l s e t t i n g s , the language of the p o p u l a t i o n s , the h i s t o r i c a l p e r i o d s of time and 13 d i f f e r e n t types of measurement instruments a v a i l a b l e . Lambert and P e a l (1962) contend t h a t these (the e a r l y s t u d i e s ) e x h i b i t an obvious p a u c i t y of s i g n i f i c a n t c o n t r o l s f o r socioeconomic s t a t u s , I.Q., age, e d u c a t i o n a l background, degree of b i l i n g u a l i s m and types of i n s t r u m e n t a t i o n used. Recent r e s e a r c h , from 1960-present has been conducted p r i m a r i l y i n O n t a r i o and Quebec, (Barik & Swain 1977, Lambert & P e a l 1962, C a s s e r l y and Edwards 1976, Cummins 1983, T r i t e s 1976, Carey 1983) . The r a p i d growth of French immersion i n the West has spurred B r i t i s h Columbian r e s e a r c h e r s t o do some of t h e i r own i n v e s t i g a t i o n s , (Shapson & Day 1982, Holmes 1981, T r i t e s 1986, W i l t o n 1974, Wormeli and Ardanaz 1987) . The commonality of the c u r r e n t r e s e a r c h i s t h a t the f i n d i n g s c o n s i s t e n t l y r e p o r t f a v o u r a b l e e f f e c t s of b i l i n g u a l e d u c a t i o n on the students e n r o l l e d i n Canadian French immersion programs, e.g. i t may have p o s i t i v e e f f e c t s on c o g n i t i v e f u n c t i o n i n g , (Lambert & Tucker 1972), i t causes no impairment of academic achievement (Genesee 1978, Lambert 1969), i t does not hi n d e r attainment of equivalence i n E n g l i s h language s k i l l s i f measured soon a f t e r E n g l i s h language a r t s i s i n t r o d u c e d i n t o the c u r r i c u l u m (Shapson & Day 1982), i t develops h i g h e r l e v e l s o f second language s k i l l s at no cost t o f i r s t language s k i l l s (Lambert & Tucker 1972), i t may b e n e f i t c h i l d r e n w i t h language d i s a b i l i t i e s (Bruck 1978). Another s i m i l a r i t y of the c u r r e n t Canadian r e s e a r c h i s t h a t i t deal s with ' a d d i t i v e 1 b i l i n g u a l i s m , t h a t i s m a j o r i t y language i n d i v i d u a l s (English) are a c q u i r i n g a second language (French) t h a t i s s o c i a l l y r e l e v a n t t o t h e i r f i r s t , an a l r e a d y s o c i a l l y r e l e v a n t language. The c u r r e n t Canadian r e s e a r c h has centered on fo u r i s s u e s o u t l i n e d by Cummins (1983): 1. the c o g n i t i v e and academic e f f e c t s o f immersion, 2. the e f f e c t s o f i n t e n s i t y of language two exposure on language one and language two development, 3. the r e l a t i v e advantages of e a r l y versus l a t e immersion, 4. the s u i t a b i l i t y of immersion f o r a l l students, p a r t i c u l a r l y those with l e a r n i n g d i f f i c u l t i e s . Recent r e s e a r c h i s more m e t h o d o l o g i c a l l y sound than the e a r l i e r r e s e a r c h , e.g., b i l i n g u a l i s m as a v a r i a b l e i s a c c u r a t e l y d e f i n e d , socioeconomic s t a t u s and I.Q. are c o n t r o l l e d f o r , however, W i l l i g (1987) 15 contends t h a t t h e r e are s t i l l m e t h o d o l o g i c a l d i f f i c u l t i e s t h a t haunt Canadian French immersion res e a r c h , such as; 1. the d i f f e r e n c e s between types of programs being compared are not c o n t r o l l e d f o r , 2. the language of c r i t e r i o n instruments i s not c o n s i s t e n t , 3. the academic domain of the c r i t e r i o n instruments vary, 4. the random versus non-random assignment of students t o immersion programs. Swain contends (197 9) t h a t the demographic c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s of communities b e i n g compared vary. Lambert & P e a l (1962) warn t h a t the e d u c a t i o n a l background of students i s not c o n t r o l l e d f o r , t h a t t h e r e i s an absence of the use of t e s t s t h a t have been c o n s t r u c t e d and s t a n d a r d i z e d on a p o p u l a t i o n s i m i l a r t o the one b e i n g t e s t e d , t h a t t h e r e i s use of t e s t s t h a t have been t r a n s l a t e d from one language to another without a p p r o p r i a t e s t a n d a r d i z a t i o n , and t h a t t h e r e i s l a c k of c o n s i s t e n c y i n language used f o r t e s t a d m i n i s t r a t i o n . Carey (1984) advises t h a t s y s t e m a t i c e v a l u a t i o n of French immersion programs should be o c c u r r i n g d u r i n g 16 a l l phases of implementation. He warns of the m e t h o d o l o g i c a l problems woven i n t o the r e s e a r c h , \"Many of the major e v a l u a t i o n s t u d i e s have compared the progress of students i n immersion programs with t h a t of s i m i l a r students i n the E n g l i s h program which u s u a l l y i n c l u d e core French. ... t h a t parents and t e a c h e r s have determined which program ( E n g l i s h or French immersion) a student f o l l o w s . . . thus the most fundamental assumption of doing experimental r e s e a r c h has been o b v i a t e d s i n c e s u b j e c t s e l e c t i o n f a c t o r s are g i v e n f r e e r e i n \" (p.249-250). He i n c l u d e s on h i s l i s t of o b v i a t e d confounding v a r i a b l e s : 1. the socioeconomic s t a t u s of the p a r e n t s of French immersion students i s s i g n i f i c a n t l y h i g h e r than those of students i n the r e g u l a r program. 2. parents who e n r o l l e d t h e i r c h i l d r e n i n immersion are more i n t e r e s t e d i n speaking French than those parents of c h i l d r e n i n the E n g l i s h program. 3. t e a c h e r d i f f e r e n c e s are h i g h l y i n f l u e n t i a l i n language a c q u i s i t i o n and academic achievement. He concludes by s t a t i n g t h a t \" p a r e n t a l s o c i o c u l t u r a l and e t h n o l i n g u i s t i c v a l u e s and a s p i r a t i o n s are important v a r i a b l e s i n f l u e n c i n g l i n g u i s t i c and academic 17 achievement\" (p.252). Beyond these seemingly i n h e r e n t m e t h o d o l o g i c a l d i f f i c u l t i e s t h a t are extremely d i f f i c u l t t o e r a d i c a t e , t h e r e are those t h a t can be e l i m i n a t e d or at the very l e a s t reduced, by the s e l e c t i o n of a p p r o p r i a t e i n s t r u m e n t a t i o n . R e s u l t s from s t u d i e s examining the academic achievement o f French immersion students compared t o those i n the r e g u l a r E n g l i s h program, may or may not s u f f e r from a l l of the aforementioned m e t h o d o l o g i c a l programs. However, they c o n s i s t e n t l y conclude t h a t French immersion students achieve a c a d e m i c a l l y e q u a l l y t o students i n the E n g l i s h program based on the data a c q u i r e d u s i n g the f o l l o w i n g i n s t r u m e n t a t i o n , (Swain 1977); 1. Test de Rendement en F r a n c a i s ; a set of achievement t e s t s s t a n d a r d i z e d on the n a t i v e French speakers of Montreal. 2. Tests of r e a d i n g s t a n d a r d i z e d on n a t i v e French speaking students i n Belgium. 3. Unstandardized c l o z e t e s t s . 4. Test de Rendement en Mathematique; an a r i t h m e t i c achievement t e s t s t a n d a r d i z e d on the n a t i v e French speaking p o p u l a t i o n of Montreal. 18 5. T r a n s l a t e d v e r s i o n of the Peabody P i c t u r e Vocabulary Test Revised, S p i l k a (1974) . There are other claims as t o the l e v e l of achievement of French immersion students based on the use of i n a p p r o p r i a t e i n s t r u m e n t a t i o n f i n d i n g s . Shapson and Day (1982), c l a i m t h a t \" r e s e a r c h e r s have demonstrated t h a t c h i l d r e n experience no harmful e f f e c t s t o t h e i r c o g n i t i v e development or ... achievement i n s c h o o l s u b j e c t s . . . immersion c h i l d r e n at a l l grades have shown s i m i l a r l e v e l s of achievement as c h i l d r e n i n the r e g u l a r E n g l i s h program i n Mathematics\" (p.2). They conclude t h a t \" t h e i r l e v e l of achievement i n French language a r t s appears to be s i m i l a r t o those r e p o r t e d f o r some of the immersion programs i n more b i l i n g u a l r e g i o ns of Canada, e.g. Ottawa, Stern et a l . , (197 6) and Montreal, Genesee (1978) . The measures used t o a c q u i r e the data t o make these claims were: 1. Test de Rendement en F r a n c a i s t o assess French language a r t s . 2. Test de Rendement en Mathematiques. Both measures were c r e a t e d to assess the l e v e l of achievement of n a t i v e French speakers i n Montreal. Bruck (1978) i n her i n v e s t i g a t i o n of the s u i t a b i l i t y of e a r l y French immersion f o r the language d i s a b l e d c h i l d a d m i n i s t e r e d the M e t r o p o l i t a n Achievement Test and the WRAT. She a l s o used t e a c h e r s ' r a t i n g s of student achievement i n reading, w r i t i n g , math, e x p r e s s i v e language and r e c e p t i v e language. She concluded on the b a s i s of her data t h a t c h i l d r e n w i t h language l e a r n i n g problems who a t t e n d French immersion can \"develop l i n g u i s t i c , c o g n i t i v e and academic s k i l l s at a r a t e s i m i l a r t o t h a t at which they would develop were they p l a c e d i n an a l l E n g l i s h classroom\". The t e s t s used to make these c o n c l u s i o n s are American s t a n d a r d i z e d achievement t e s t s t h a t are a d m i n i s t e r e d to the s u b j e c t s i n E n g l i s h . Swain (1974), e x p l a i n s t h a t most of the e v a l u a t i o n s of achievement i n French immersion programs have examined student performance i n the area of mathematics and t h a t the t e s t s commonly used are the Cooperative Mathematics Test and the M e t r o p o l i t a n Achievement Test. Again, both t e s t s are American s t a n d a r d i z e d t e s t s t h a t are a d m i n i s t e r e d to the s u b j e c t s i n E n g l i s h . Singh (198 6), p o i n t s out t h a t \" t e a c h i n g and t e s t i n g i n immersion programs i s s t i l l l a r g e l y 20 r e s t r i c t e d t o l i n g u i s t i c competence\" (p.561). Can statements or c o n c l u s i o n s be made or drawn comparing French immersion students' achievement when t e s t i n g o c c u r r e d i n E n g l i s h r a t h e r than the language of i n s t r u c t i o n used i n t h e i r program, when the measures used were not designed f o r use with these p o p u l a t i o n s , nor was the item content drawn from the c u r r i c u l a i n ge n e r a l use? S a t t l e r a d v i s e s t h a t , \"achievement t e s t s , such as re a d i n g and mathematical t e s t s are h e a v i l y dependent on formal l e a r n i n g experiences t h a t are a c q u i r e d i n the home or at s c h o o l . They appear t o be more c u l t u r e bound and sample more s p e c i f i c s k i l l s than do i n t e l l i g e n c e t e s t s ... achievement t e s t s s t r e s s mastery of f a c t u a l i n f o r m a t i o n \" (p.59). Standards f o r psychometric adequacy are p r o v i d e d by a j o i n t committee of the American P s y c h o l o g i c a l A s s o c i a t i o n , the American E d u c a t i o n a l Research A s s o c i a t i o n and the N a t i o n a l C o u n c i l on Measurement i n Ed u c a t i o n . They d e s c r i b e the measurement instrument as \"an o p e r a t i o n a l d e f i n i t i o n o f a s p e c i f i e d domain of s k i l l or knowledge, or of a t r a i t of i n t e r e s t t o the developer or user ... the e s s e n t i a l problem i s to reach some c o n c l u s i o n about how scores on the t e s t are r e l a t e d t o some other performance, and i s i t 21 a p p r o p r i a t e t o speak to the c l o s e n e s s of the r e l a t i o n s h i p \" (p.25). They recommend as an e s s e n t i a l standard of measurement use t h a t , \"a t e s t user should examine the d i f f e r e n c e s between c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s of a person t e s t e d and those of the p o p u l a t i o n on whom the t e s t was developed or norms developed. His r e s p o n s i b i l i t y i n c l u d e s d e c i d i n g whether the d i f f e r e n c e s are so great t h a t the t e s t should not be used f o r t h a t person\" (p.71) . Of the instruments used i n measuring the achievement of French immersion students, none of the c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s of the p o p u l a t i o n used to s t a n d a r d i z e the t e s t match or resemble those of the Canadian French immersion p o p u l a t i o n . Can we r e a l l y assume t h a t we have measured academic achievement of students i n French immersion i f we are t e s t i n g the students i n t h e i r mother tongue when t h e i r language of i n s t r u c t i o n has been French? The q u e s t i o n of the r o l e of language i n c o g n i t i o n (which when measured i s h i g h l y c o r r e l a t e d w i t h achievement) has not been answered. Whorf (1956) suggested t h a t p e r c e p t i o n of the environment and i t s mental r e p r e s e n t a t i o n depend e s s e n t i a l l y on language. Vgotsky 22 (1962) s t u d i e d the r e l a t i o n s h i p between language and c o g n i t i o n and i n t e r p r e t e d languages as p l a y i n g a l e a d i n g r o l e i n the development of c o g n i t i o n . Most of the r e s e a r c h i n v e s t i g a t e d language and c o g n i t i o n has been d i r e c t e d towards determining the f a v o r a b l e e f f e c t s of b i l i n g u a l i s m on c o g n i t i o n development. Very l i t t l e r e s e a r c h has been done to i n v e s t i g a t e whether a c h i l d a c t u a l l y performs d i f f e r e n t l y i n one language as opposed to another. Does i n d i v i d u a l academic performance vary from one language to another? Can we assume t h a t we have measured academic achievement when r e s e a r c h e r s have overlooked the most e s s e n t i a l of psychometric standards i n t e s t s e l e c t i o n by u s i n g t r a n s l a t i o n s of s t a n d a r d i z e d t e s t without r e - s t a n d a r d i z i n g , t e s t e d French immersion students' achievement i n E n g l i s h , used achievement t e s t s t h a t have been normed on n a t i v e French speakers, and used un s t a n d a r d i z e d measures, such as t e a c h e r e v a l u a t i o n s and c l o z e procedures? To what end does the development of the F.I.A.T. r e s o l v e these inadequacies? The F.I.A.T. has been s t a n d a r d i z e d on Canada's French immersion p o p u l a t i o n and i t s item content has been s e l e c t e d from c u r r i c u l a i n g e n e r a l use i n French immersion programs i n Canada. 23 How w i l l the development of the F.I.A.T. a s s i s t French immersion i n general? A n a s t a s i (1976) claims t h a t a p p r o p r i a t e achievement measures, \" c o n s t i t u t e an important f e a t u r e of remedial t e a c h i n g programs . . . they are u s e f u l i n the i d e n t i f i c a t i o n o f p u p i l s with s p e c i a l e d u c a t i o n a l d i s a b i l i t i e s \" . She f u r t h e r contends t h a t a p p r o p r i a t e achievement i n s t r u m e n t a t i o n can l e n d i t s e l f t o p r o v i d i n g the adequacy with which e s s e n t i a l content and s k i l l s are a c t u a l l y b e i n g taught. Thus the development of an a p p r o p r i a t e achievement instrument f o r French immersion students w i l l a s s i s t i n e v a l u a t i n g the e f f e c t i v e n e s s of the program r a t h e r than measuring only l i n g u i s t i c competence. Cummins (1983) claims t h a t many a d m i n i s t r a t o r s assume t h a t immersion i s only a p p r o p r i a t e f o r ' b r i g h t e r ' students and t h a t c h i l d r e n with p o t e n t i a l academic problems should be screened out. \"Genesee (1976) claims t h a t we should be seeking t o allow a l l types of c h i l d r e n t o p a r t i c i p a t e i n t h i s type o f second language l e a r n i n g , but p r i o r t o doing so we need t o understand more about i n d i v i d u a l d i f f e r e n c e s and pr o c e s s e s . With i n c r e a s e d understanding of i n d i v i d u a l achievement and d i f f e r e n c e s we can begin t o s p e c u l a t e as t o the worthiness o f immersion f o r a l l students and we can adapt programs t o s u i t the needs of students o f a l l p o t e n t i a l . The purpose of the F.I.A.T. i s to a l l o w i n v e s t i g a t o r s t o compare a French immersion student's performance t o t h a t of other Canadian students i n the same grade placement. The F.I.A.T. i s intended to i d e n t i f y those French immersion students whose scores d e v i a t e s u f f i c i e n t l y from the average of h i s or her peers t o be regarded as abnormal and t o determine a student's performance by t e s t i n g the l i m i t s of response make by the student. The primary f u n c t i o n of the F.I.A.T. i s to d i s c r i m i n a t e between French immersion students who r e q u i r e r emediation and those who do not. The present study w i l l i n v e s t i g a t e the v a l i d i t y of the F.I.A.T. t o make t h i s d i s c r i m i n a t i o n . CHAPTER III METHODOLOGY The t e s t c o n s t r u c t o r s intended t h a t the F.I.A.T. 1s primary f u n c t i o n i s as an i n d i v i d u a l i z e d s c r e e n i n g d e v i c e t o i n d i c a t e the r e l a t i v e a b i l i t i e s of French immersion elementary p u p i l s i n Reading, S p e l l i n g and A r i t h m e t i c . Students i n need o f remedial a s s i s t a n c e should o b t a i n scores s i g n i f i c a n t l y lower than those not i n need of remedial a s s i s t a n c e . To t e s t t h i s h y p o t h e s i s , the F.I.A.T. w i l l be admi n i s t e r e d t o a sample of French immersion students r e c e i v i n g remedial i n s t r u c t i o n and a sample not r e c e i v i n g remedial i n s t r u c t i o n t o determine the a b i l i t y of the instrument t o d i f f e r e n t i a t e between these two groups. C h i l d r e n at two grade l e v e l s w i l l p a r t i c i p a t e i n the v a l i d a t i o n phase. THE SAMPLE P e r m i s s i o n t o c o l l e c t data was obt a i n e d from the Coquitlam School Board and the D e l t a School Board, 1987 (See Appendix A f o r l e t t e r of p e r m i s s i o n ) . The sample was drawn from 5 lower mainland elementary schools t h a t o f f e r e d e a r l y French immersion and remedial s e r v i c e s f o r French immersion students. French immersion t e a c h e r s of each of the grade l e v e l s 2 and 5 were asked 26 t o i d e n t i f y a l l students who re c e i v e remedial i n s t r u c t i o n f o r Language A r t s and whose f i r s t language i s not French. P a r e n t a l consent forms (see Appendix A) requesting permission f o r i d e n t i f i e d remedial students were sent home and returned i n d i c a t i n g permission to p a r t i c i p a t e . Teachers were asked to place a check beside the names of a l l students who would not be considered \"at a l l e l i g i b l e f o r any k i n d of remedial i n s t r u c t i o n , average or b e t t e r p u p i l s and whose mother tongue i s not French.\" (see i n s t r u c t i o n s f o r Teachers, Appendix A) Parent consent forms were sent home and returned t o the teacher i n d i c a t i n g whether or not permission had been granted. F.I.A.T. examiners then randomly s e l e c t e d students to be t e s t e d at each of the grades. TEST ADMINISTRATORS Teachers of Del t a and Coquitlam who are n a t i v e speakers of French and who have been t r a i n e d i n the a d m i n i s t r a t i o n of the F.I.A.T. administered the t e s t i n the p a r t i c i p a t i n g schools during school hours between A p r i l 1 and A p r i l 15, 1987. EMPIRICAL VALIDITY The purpose of t h i s v a l i d a t i o n study i s t o examine the e m p i r i c a l v a l i d i t y of the F.I.A.T. Means and 27 standard d e v i a t i o n s were computed f o r each group, remedial and non-remedial, at each grade l e v e l . I n d i v i d u a l r e l i a b i l i t i e s between i n d i v i d u a l s u b t e s t s were c a l c u l a t e d f o r each remedial and non-remedial group. The remedial and non-remedial groups were compared at each grade l e v e l i n the a n a l y s i s . A l l f o u r s u b t e s t s were entered simultaneously to determine the best l i n e a r combination of s u b t e s t s t h a t d i f f e r e n t i a t e the remedial. from the non-remedial. groups. The s i g n i f i c a n c e l e v e l w i l l be set at .01 f o r t h i s a n a l y s i s f o r e n t r y and d e l e t i o n . At the grade 5 l e v e l , each subt e s t was entered independently to determine the a b i l i t y o f i n d i v i d u a l s u b t e s t s t o d i s t i n g u i s h between the remedial and non-remedial group. These analyses are computed u s i n g the d i s c r i m i n a n t f u n c t i o n a n a l y s i s subprogram i n the S t a t i s t i c a l Package f o r the S o c i a l Sciences (SPSSX) (Nie 1975) at the E d u c a t i o n a l Research Computing Centre (ERSC) at the U n i v e r s i t y of B r i t i s h Columbia (U.B.C.). GRADE TWO VALIDATION Means, standard d e v i a t i o n s , between i n d i v i d u a l s u b t e s t s and i n t e r n a l c o n s i s t e n c y r e l i a b i l i t i e s f o r S p e l l i n g , A r i t h m e t i c , Word I d e n t i f i c a t i o n and Passage 28 Comprehension are r e p o r t e d i n Table 4 f o r the remedial group and non-remedial group. The r e s u l t s o f the F-t e s t conducted as p a r t of the d i s c r i m i n a n t a n a l y s i s f o r each sub t e s t show whether the d i f f e r e n c e s between p a i r s of s u b t e s t means are s i g n i f i c a n t . The a b i l i t y o f a l l of the four s u b t e s t s t o d i f f e r e n t i a t e between the groups as w e l l as the p o s s i b i l i t y of a combination of su b t e s t s o f producing d i f f e r e n t r e s u l t s are pre s e n t e d i n Table 7 and Table 8. GRADE F I V E V A L I D A T I O N Means, standard d e v i a t i o n s , c o r r e l a t i o n s and r e l i a b i l i t i e s f o r S p e l l i n g , A r i t h m e t i c , Word I d e n t i f i c a t i o n and Passage Comprehension f o r the remedial group and the non-remedial group are pre s e n t e d i n Table 9. The r e s u l t s of F - t e s t s shown i n Table 13 w i l l show whether the remedial group scor e d s i g n i f i c a n t l y lower than the non-remedial group. The a b i l i t y of the fo u r s u b t e s t s t o d i s c r i m i n a t e between the groups as w e l l as the p o s s i b i l i t y of a combination of s u b t e s t s producing a s u p e r i o r r e s u l t w i l l be shown i n Tables 14 through 22. CODING A f t e r the F.I.A.T. was administered, t e s t p r o t o c o l s were scored by hand and v e r i f i e d by the author. P r o t o c o l s were coded by hand f o r grade, i d e n t i f i c a t i o n number, sex and group c l a s s i f i c a t i o n . A number of su b t e s t s were excluded from the a n a l y s i s (see Table 3) because of b a s a l and c e i l i n g e r r o r s . At grade 2, 0 of the s u b t e s t s were e l i m i n a t e d . At grade 5, 10 of the S p e l l i n g s u b t e s t s , 9 of the A r i t h m e t i c s u b t e s t s and 11 of the Passage comprehension s u b t e s t s were not i n c l u d e d i n the a n a l y s i s . When a l l 4 s u b t e s t s at the grade 5 l e v e l were ent e r e d simultaneously, 23 cases were e l i m i n a t e d f o r m i s s i n g d i s c r i m i n a t i n g v a r i a b l e s . 30 CHAPTER IV ^ RESULTS T h i s chapter d e s c r i b e s the f i n a l o b t a i n e d sample and p r e s e n t s the r e s u l t s of the data a n a l y s i s . THE SAMPLE 121 students conformed t o the c r i t e r i a s p e c i f i e d i n Chapter Three and completed the F.I.A.T. as p a r t i c i p a n t s of t h i s study. At the grade 2 l e v e l , 27 remedial French immersion students and 35 non-remedial French immersion students (see Tables 1 and 2) who had been e n r o l l e d i n French immersion s i n c e k i n d e r g a r t e n , whose mother tongue was E n g l i s h and f o r whom p a r e n t a l consent had been obtained p a r t i c i p a t e d i n the study. 0 su b t e s t s at the grade 2 l e v e l were e l i m i n a t e d from the a n a l y s i s due t o b a s a l or c e i l i n g e r r o r s . At the grade 5 l e v e l 2 0 remedial French immersion students and 39 non-remedial French immersion students who met the c r i t e r i a s p e c i f i e d i n Chapter Three p a r t i c i p a t e d i n the study (see Tables 1 and 3) . A number of s u b t e s t s were e l i m i n a t e d from the a n a l y s i s at the grade 5 l e v e l due to b a s a l and c e i l i n g e r r o r s : 10 S p e l l i n g s u b t e s t s , 9 A r i t h m e t i c s u b t e s t s , 1 Word I d e n t i f i c a t i o n s u b t e s t and 11 Passage Comprehension s u b t e s t s were e l i m i n a t e d from the a n a l y s i s (see Table 3). 31 TABLE 1 OBTAINED AND DESIRED SAMPLE SIZE FOR GRADES 2 AND 5 Obtained Desired Obtained Desired Obtained Desired Non-1 Non- Remedial Remedial T o t a l T o t a l Remedial Remedial Grade 2 35 30 27 30 62 60 Grade 5 39 30 20 30 59 60 Total 74 60 47 60 121 120 32 TABLE 2 GRADE 2 NON-REMEDIAL AND REMEDIAL SAMPLE SIZE PROCESSED FOR EACH VARIABLE Variable Non-Remedial Remedial Number Total N Processed N Processed Eliminated Spelling 35 27 0 62 Arithmetic 35 27 0 62 Word I d e n t i f i c a t i o n 35 27 0 62 Passage Comprehension 35 27 0 62 Entering 4 Variables 35 27 0 62 33 TABLE 3 GRADE 5 NON-REMEDIAL AND REMEDIAL CASES PROCESSED FOR EACH VARIABLE Variable Non-Remedial Remedial Number Total N Processed N Processed Eliminated Spelling 37 12 10 49 Arithmetic 31 19 9 50 Word I d e n t i f i c a t i o n 38 20 1 58 Passage Comprehension 38 10 11 48 Entering 4 Variables 29 7 23 36 DATA ANALYSIS Remedial and Non-remedial groups were compared f o r s p e l l i n g , a r i t h m e t i c , word i d e n t i f i c a t i o n and passage comprehension at each grade l e v e l u s i n g the D i s c r i m i n a n t F u n c t i o n subprogram of the s t a t i s t i c a l Package f o r the S o c i a l Sciences (S.P.S.S.X) (Nie, et a l . , 1975) at the Education Research S e r v i c e Centre at the U n i v e r s i t y of B r i t i s h Columbia (E.R.S.C., U.B.C.). In the f i r s t a n a l y s i s means, standard d e v i a t i o n s , between i n d i v i d u a l s u b t e s t s and r e l i a b i l i t i e s f o r S p e l l i n g , A r i t h m e t i c , Word I d e n t i f i c a t i o n and Passage Comprehension were computed. R e l i a b i l i t y estimates were computed by s p l i t - h a l v e s , then i n f l a t e d manually u s i n g the Spearman-Brown Formula. In the second a n a l y s i s , s u b t e s t s were entered s i m u l t a n e o u s l y to determine the most powerful i d e n t i f i e r or best l i n e a r combination of s u b j e c t s of remedial and non-remedial groups. Because of d i f f e r e n t sample s i z e s , at the grade 5 l e v e l , the f o u r s u b t e s t s were ent e r e d independently to determine i n d i v i d u a l s u b t e s t ' s power t o a c c u r a t e l y c l a s s i f y . GRADE TWO RESULTS Means, standard d e v i a t i o n s between i n d i v i d u a l s u b t e s t s and i n t e r n a l c o n s i s t e n c y r e l i a b i l i t i e s are 35 TABLE 4 GRADE 2 MEANS, STANDARD DEVIATIONS, CORRELATIONS1 AND RELIABILITIES2 FOR REMEDIAL AND NON-REMEDIAL STUDENTS Spelling Arithmetic Word Passage I d e n t i f i c a t i o n Comprehension X Non-Remedial 9.3 Remedial 7.5 SD Non-Remedial 4.1 Remedial 3.2 17 .4 17.1 4.6 5.2 33.0 24.4 13.2 10.5 4.6 4.0 2.1 1.7 0 Spelling .81 R R E Arithmetic .56 L A T Word ID .53 I 0 N Passage Comp. .49 S . 5 0 .81 ,21 .46 ,59 ,36 96 49 .48 .48 .46 .58 C o r r e l a t i o n s i n the upper t r i a n g l e are for non-remedial students; correlations i n the lower l e f t t r i a n g l e are for remedial students. R e l i a b i l i t i e s estimates (computed by s p l i t -halves, i n f l a t e d by the Spearman-Brown formula) are l i s t e d diagonally from upper l e f t to lower right i n bold face p r i n t . 36 r e p o r t e d i n Table 4 f o r the Remedial and non-remedial group. The means f o r remedial and non-remedial groups i n d i c a t e t h a t Word I d e n t i f i c a t i o n produced the g r e a t e s t d i f f e r e n c e between group means, f o l l o w e d by S p e l l i n g , Passage Comprehension and A r i t h m e t i c . Pearson C o r r e l a t i o n s i n d i c a t e t h a t Word I d e n t i f i c a t i o n i s most h i g h l y c o r r e l a t e d with S p e l l i n g f o r both Remedial and non-remedial groups and A r i t h m e t i c and Word I d e n t i f i c a t i o n are the l e a s t c o r r e l a t e d f o r both groups. I n t e r n a l c o n s i s t e n c y r e l i a b i l i t i e s (see Tables 5 and 6). c a l c u l a t e d f o r Remedial and Non-Remedial groups combined were above .80 f o r a l l s u b t e s t s E x c e p t i n g Passage Comprehension which was low .58. I n t e r n a l c o n s i s t e n c y r e l i a b i l i t i e s c a l c u l a t e d f o r the remedial group were above .80 f o r a l l s u b t e s t s e x c e p t i n g Passage Comprehension. R e l i a b i l i t i e s f o r the Non-remedial group were lower, .75 f o r S p e l l i n g and A r i t h m e t i c , .59 f o r Passage Comprehension and .94 f o r Word I d e n t i f i c a t i o n . At the grade 2 l e v e l b a s a l and c e i l i n g e r r o r s d i d not occur r e s u l t i n g i n equal sample s i z e s f o r a l l s u b t e s t s (see Table 2). By e n t e r i n g the 4 s u b t e s t s simultaneously, only Word I d e n t i f i c a t i o n was i n c l u d e d TABLE 5 GRADE 2 INTERNAL CONSISTENCY RELIABILITIES* FOR REMEDIAL GROUP Spelling .87 Arithmetic .87 Word I d e n t i f i c a t i o n .96 Passage Comprehension .56 * R e l i a b i l i t y estimates computed by sp l i t - h a l v e s and i n f l a t e d by Spearman-Brown Formula. 38 T A B L E 6 GRADE 2 I N T E R N A L C O N S I S T E N C Y R E L I A B I L I T I E S * FOR N O N - R E M E D I A L GROUP Spelling .75 Arithmetic .75 Word I d e n t i f i c a t i o n .94 Passage Comprehension .59 * R e l i a b i l i t y estimates computed by sp l i t - h a l v e s and i n f l a t e d by Spearman-Brown Formula. 39 i n the a n a l y s i s at step 1. R e s u l t s of F - t e s t s i n d i c a t e t h a t the S p e l l i n g , A r i t h m e t i c and Passage Comprehension su b t e s t s d i d not d i s c r i m i n a t e between group means (see Table 7) . Word I d e n t i f i c a t i o n emerged as the most powerful d i s c r i m i n a t o r between grade 2 remedial and non-remedial students, c o r r e c t l y i d e n t i f y i n g 74.1% of the remedial students as remedial and 57.1% of the non-remedial students as non-remedial with an o v e r a l l c o r r e c t c l a s s i f i c a t i o n r a t e of 64.52% (see Table 8). The d i r e c t i o n of the e r r o r was i n favour of i d e n t i f y i n g non-remedial students as remedial (42.9% of the non-remedial students were c l a s s i f i e d as r e m e d i a l ) . GRADE FIVE RESULTS Means, standard d e v i a t i o n s , c o r r e l a t i o n s and i n t e r n a l c o n s i s t e n c y r e l i a b i l i t i e s are presented i n Tables 9, 10, 11 and 12 f o r the remedial and non-remedial groups. The d i f f e r e n c e between means of non-remedial and remedial groups i s s i g n i f i c a n t f o r a l l s u b t e s t s e x c e p t i n g Passage Comprehension. Pearson C o r r e l a t i o n s i n d i c a t e t h a t Word I d e n t i f i c a t i o n and S p e l l i n g are the most h i g h l y c o r r e l a t e d s u b t e s t s f o r the remedial group and S p e l l i n g and Passage Comprehension are the most h i g h l y 40 TABLE 7 GRADE 2 DISCRIMINANT ANALYSIS At Step 1 Word Idenfication was included i n the analysis. Word I d e n t i f i c a t i o n Degrees of Freedom Significance Wilks' Lambda 0.88793 1 60 Equivalent F 7.57312 1 60 0.0078 Variables Not i n the Analysis After Step 1 Variable F to enter Spelling 0.92570E-01 Arithmetic 0.28874 Passage Comprehension 0.49523E-02 ( TABLE 8 GRADE 2 CLASSIFICATION RESULTS Spelling Arithmetic Word I d e n t i f i c a t i o n Pass. Comp. Actua l Group No. of Cases Predic ted Group Membership Non-Remedial Remedial Non-Remedial 35 20 15 57.1% 42.9% Remedial 27 7 20 25. 9% 74.1% Percent of \"Grouped\" Cases Correctly C l a s s i f i e d 64.52% 42 TABLE 9 GRADE 5 MEANS, STANDARD DEVIATIONS, CORRELATIONS AND RELIABILITIES FOR REMEDIAL AND NON-REMEDIAL STUDENTS Spelling Arithmetic Word Passage I d e n t i f i c a t i o n Comprehension X Remedial 14.4 37.7 46 .8 13.0 Non-Remedial 23. 8 41.8 58 .5 16.5 SD Remedial 6.1 3.9 11 .3 4.5 Non-Remedial 5.7 5.1 8 .9 5.6 C 0 S p e l l i n g .91 .27 .31 .42 R R E A r i t h m e t i c .16 .86 -.01 .55 L A T Word ID .69 .16 .92 -.01 I 0 N Passage Comp. -.15 -.38 .07 .92 C o r r e l a t i o n s i n the upper t r i a n g l e are f o r non-remedial p u p i l s ; c o r r e l a t i o n s i n the lower l e f t are f o r remedial p u p i l s . R e l i a b i l i t y estimates (computed by s p l i t - h a l v e s , i n f l a t e d by the Spearman Brown formula) are l i s t e d d i a g o n a l l y from u p p e r l e f t to lower r i g h t i n b o l d f a c e p r i n t . 43 TABLE 10 GRADE 5 MEANS AND STANDARD DEVIATIONS CALCULATED INDEPENDENTLY FOR EACH SUBTEST Spelling Arithmetic Word Passage I d e n t i f i c a t i o n Comprehension X Remedial 16.9 37.00 49.45 11.7 Non-Remedial 23.8 41.77 58.63 16.3 SD Remedial 6.1 3.85 9.51 4.7 Non-Remedial 5.3 4.96 9.44 5.4 44 TABLE 11 GRADE 5 INTERNAL CONSISTENCY RELIABILITIES FOR REMEDIAL GROUP Spelling .89 Arithmetic .93 Word I d e n t i f i c a t i o n .96 Passage Comprehension .89 TABLE 12 GRADE 5 INTERNAL CONSISTENCY RELIABILITIES FOR NON-REMEDIAL GROUP S p e l l i n g .89 A r i t h m e t i c .70 Word I d e n t i f i c a t i o n .89 Passage Comprehension .91 46 c o r r e l a t e d f o r t h e n o n - r e m e d i a l g r o u p . The A r i t h m e t i c a n d P a s s a g e C o m p r e h e n s i o n s u b t e s t s h a d t h e l o w e s t c o r r e l a t i o n f o r t h e r e m e d i a l g r o u p , a n d t h e Word I d e n t i f i c a t i o n a n d P a s s a g e C o m p r e h e n s i o n s u b t e s t h a d t h e l o w e s t c o r r e l a t i o n f o r t h e n o n - r e m e d i a l g r o u p . I n t e r n a l c o n s i s t e n c y r e l i a b i l i t i e s c o m p u t e d f o r c o m b i n e d r e m e d i a l a n d n o n - r e m e d i a l g r o u p s a n d f o r i n d i v i d u a l g r o u p s a n d s u b t e s t s i n d i c a t e d r e l i a b i l i t y e s t i m a t e s a b o v e .80 f o r a l l s u b t e s t s e x c e p t f o r t h e A r i t h m e t i c s u b t e s t c o m p u t e d f o r n o n - r e m e d i a l g r o u p , w h i c h h a s a r e l i a b i l i t y e s t i m a t e o f .70. GRADE FIVE SPELLING R e s u l t s o f F - t e s t s ( s e e T a b l e 13) i n d i c a t e t h a t t h e a b i l i t y o f t h e s p e l l i n g s u b t e s t t o d i s c r i m i n a t e b e t w e e n g r o u p s was s i g n i f i c a n t a t .01. C l a s s i f i c a t i o n r e s u l t s ( s e e T a b l e 14) d e m o n s t r a t e t h a t t h e s p e l l i n g s u b t e s t c o r r e c t l y i d e n t i f i e d 6 6.7% o f t h e r e m e d i a l s t u d e n t s as r e m e d i a l , a n d 7 5 . 7 % o f t h e n o n - r e m e d i a l s t u d e n t s as n o n - r e m e d i a l . The d i r e c t i o n o f e r r o r was t o w a r d s i d e n t i f y i n g 3 3 . 4 % o f t h e r e m e d i a l s t u d e n t s as n o n - r e m e d i a l . The o v e r a l l c o r r e c t c l a s s i f i c a t i o n r a t e was 7 3 . 4 7 % . 47 TABLE 13 GRADE 5 WILKS' LAMBDA (U-STATISTIC) AND UNIVARIATE F-RATIO WITH 1 AND 47 DEGREES OF FREEDOM V a r i a b l e W i l k s ' Lambda F S i g n i f i c a n c e S p e l l i n g . 7 6 7 8 9 1 4 . 2 1 0.0005 48 T A B L E 14 S P E L L I N G GRADE 5 C L A S S I F I C A T I O N R E S U L T S A c t u a l Group No. of P r e d i c t e d Group Membership Cases Non-Remedial Remedial Non-Remedial 37 28 9 75.4% 24.3% Remedial 12 4 8 33.3% 66.7% Percent of cases c o r r e c t l y c l a s s i f i e d : 73.47% 49 GRADE FIVE ARITHMETIC R e s u l t s of F - t e s t s (Table 15) i n d i c a t e t h a t the a b i l i t y of the A r i t h m e t i c subtest t o d i s c r i m i n a t e between groups i s s i g n i f i c a n t at .01. Table 16 prese n t s the D i s c r i m i n a n t A n a l y s i s r e s u l t s f o r the A r i t h m e t i c s u b t e s t . 20 of the 31 (64.5%) non-remedial students were c o r r e c t l y c l a s s i f i e d and 13 of the 19 (68.4%) remedial students were c o r r e c t l y c l a s s i f i e d . Using the A r i t h m e t i c subtest alone 66% of grouped cases were c o r r e c t l y c l a s s i f i e d . Subtest e r r o r i d e n t i f i e d 31.6% of the remedial students as non-remedial and 35.5% of the non-remedial students as r e m e d i a l . GRADE FIVE WORD IDENTIFICATION The r e s u l t s of F - t e s t (see Table 17) i n d i c a t e t h a t the a b i l i t y of the Word I d e n t i f i c a t i o n subtest t o d i s c r i m i n a t e between remedial and non-remedial groups i s s i g n i f i c a n t . Use of the Word I d e n t i f i c a t i o n s u b t e s t (see Table 18) alone c o r r e c t l y c l a s s i f i e d 27 of the 38 (71.1%) non-remedial students and 13 of the 20 (65%) of the remedial students. The o v e r a l l c o r r e c t c l a s s i f i c a t i o n r a t e was 68.97%. The d i r e c t i o n o f the e r r o r favoured i d e n t i f y i n g 35% of the remedial students as non-remedial and 28.9% of the non-remedial as rem e d i a l . 50 TABLE 15 GRADE 5 ARITHMETIC 13 WILKS' LAMBDA (U-STATISTIC) AND UNIVARIATE F-RATIO V a r i a b l e W i l k s 1 Lambda F S i g n i f i c a n c e A r i t h m e t i c .78956 12.79 .0008 51 TABLE 16 GRADE 5 ARITHMETIC CLASSIFICATION RESULTS A c t u a l Group No. of P r e d i c t e d Group Membership Cases Non-Remedial Remedial Non-Remedial 31 20 11 64.5% 35.5% Remedial 19 6 13 31.6% 68.4% Percent o f \"Grouped\" cases c o r r e c t l y c l a s s i f i e d 66.00% 52 TABLE 17 GRADE 5 WORD IDENTIFICATION WILKS' LAMBDA (U-STATISTIC) AND UNIVARIATE F-RATIO WITH 1 AND 56 DEGREES OF FREEDOM Variable Wilks' Lambda F Significance Word ID. .81975 12.31 . 0009 53 TABLE 18 CLASSIFICATION RESULTS A c t u a l Group No. of P r e d i c t e d Group Membership Cases Non-Remedial Remedial Non-Remedial 38 27 11 71.1% 28.9% Remedial 20 7 13 25% 65.0% Percent o f Groups c o r r e c t l y c l a s s i f i e d 68.97% 54 GRADE F I V E P A S S A G E COMPREHENSION The r e s u l t s o f t h e F - t e s t s ( T a b l e 19) i n d i c a t e t h a t t h e a b i l i t y o f t h e P a s s a g e C o m p r e h e n s i o n s u b t e s t t o d i s c r i m i n a t e b e t w e e n r e m e d i a l a n d n o n - r e m e d i a l g r o u p s i s n o t s i g n i f i c a n t . By e n t e r i n g t h e f o u r s u b t e s t s s i m u l t a n e o u s l y , o n l y S p e l l i n g was i n c l u d e d i n t h e a n a l y s i s a t s t e p one ( s e e T a b l e 2 1 ) . C l a s s i f i c a t i o n R e s u l t s ( s e e T a b l e 22) i n d i c a t e t h a t 5 0 . 0 % o f t h e r e m e d i a l s t u d e n t s w e re i d e n t i f i e d as r e m e d i a l a n d 8 0 . 1 % o f t h e n o n - r e m e d i a l s t u d e n t s w e r e i d e n t i f i e d as n o n - r e m e d i a l . The o v e r a l l c o r r e c t c l a s s i f i c a t i o n r a t e was 7 3 . 4 7 % . The d i r e c t i o n o f t h e e r r o r f a v o u r e d c l a s s i f y i n g 5 0 % o f t h e r e m e d i a l s t u d e n t s a s n o n - r e m e d i a l . E M P I R I C A L V A L I D A T I O N By a d m i n i s t e r i n g t h e F . I . A . T . a t t h e g r a d e 2 l e v e l , an o v e r a l l c o r r e c t c l a s s i f i c a t i o n r a t e o f 64.52% e m e r g e d . T h i s r a t e o f c l a s s i f i c a t i o n i s due t o t h e Word I d e n t i f i c a t i o n s u b t e s t w h i c h d i s p l a y e d t h e s t r o n g e s t t e s t a t t r i b u t e s . W i t h r e l i a b i l i t y e s t i m a t e s o f a b o v e .90 a n d a d i f f e r e n c e b e t w e e n means t h a t was s i g n i f i c a n t , t h e s u b t e s t c l a s s i f i e d 7 4 . 1 % o f t h e 55 TABLE 19 GRADE 5 WILKS' LAMBDA (U-STATISTIC) AND UNIVARIATE F-RATIO WITH 1 AND 46 DEGREES OF FREEDOM Variable Wilks' Lambda F Significance Passage .88534 Comprehension 5. 958 0.0186 56 TABLE 20 GRADE 5 WILKS' LAMBDA (U-STATISTIC) AND UNIVARIATE F-RATIO WITH 1 AND 34 DEGREES OF FREEDOM Variable Wilks' Lambda Significance Spelling .69679 Arithmetic .89311 Word ID .79829 Passage Comp. .93270 14.80 4.069 8.591 2.453 0.005 0.0516 0.0060 0.1265 TABLE 21 GRADE 5 DISCRIMINANT ANALYSIS At Step 1 Spelling was included i n the analysis. Degrees of : Freedom S i g n i f i c a n c e Wilks' Lambda 0. 69679 1 34 Equivalent F 14. 7954 1 34 0.0005 Variables not in the analysis after step 1 Variable F to enter Wilks 1 Lambda Arithmetic 0.48562 0. 68668 Word ID 1.9914 0. 65718 Passage Comp. 0.16811E-03 . 0. 69678 58 TABLE 22 GRADE 5 SPELLING, ARITHMETIC, WORD IDENTIFICATION, PASSAGE COMPREHENSION A c t u a l Group No. of P r e d i c t e d Group Membership Cases Non-Remedial Remedial Non-Remedial 37 30 7 81.1% 18.9% Remedial 12 6 6 50.0% 50.0% Percent of \"Grouped\" cases c o r r e c t l y c l a s s i f i e d : 73.47% remedial students as r e m e d i a l . The d i r e c t i o n of e r r o r was i n o v e r - i d e n t i f y i n g non-remedial students as remedial. I f e r r o r i s t o occur, t h i s type i s more d e s i r a b l e as the purpose of the t e s t i s to serve as an i n i t i a l s c r e e n i n g d evice i n the i d e n t i f i c a t i o n of French immersion students r e q u i r i n g remediation. T h e S p e l l i n g subtest was not a powerful d i s c r i m i n a t o r between groups; d i f f e r e n c e s between means was not s i g n i f i c a n t at .01. R e l i a b i l i t y estimates were above .80 when computed f o r groups combined and the remedial group, but dropped to .75 f o r the non-remedial group. ( E r r o r was 40% i n e i t h e r d i r e c t i o n ) The weakest d i s c r i m i n a t o r s between groups were the A r i t h m e t i c and Passage Comprehension s u b t e s t s . N e i t h e r s u b t e s t s r e v e a l e d any d i s t i n c t i o n between group means. R e l i a b i l i t y estimates f o r the A r i t h m e t i c subtest were above .80 when computed f o r a l l groups except the non-remedial group which had a r e l i a b i l i t y e stimate of .75. Passage Comprehension emerged as the weakest d i s c r i m i n a t o r between groups. With r e l i a b i l i t y e s timates below .60 and no d i f f e r e n c e between group means, the s u b t e s t appears to render l i t t l e a s s i s t a n c e i n attempting to i d e n t i f y remedial from non-remedial students. 60 By a d m i n i s t e r i n g t h e F.I.A.T. a t t h e grade 5 l e v e l , 73.47% o f t h e s t u d e n t s were c o r r e c t l y c l a s s i f i e d w i t h t h e weight o f t h e c o r r e c t l y i d e n t i f i e d s t u d e n t s b e i n g n o n - r e m e d i a l (81.1%); 50% o f t h e r e m e d i a l s t u d e n t s were c o r r e c t l y i d e n t i f i e d as r e m e d i a l . The F.I.A.T. emerged as a more p o w e r f u l d i s c r i m i n a t o r between groups a t the grade 5 l e v e l t h a n t h e grade 2 l e v e l . The S p e l l i n g s u b t e s t i s t h e most p o w e r f u l d i s c r i m i n a t o r between groups w i t h an o v e r a l l c o r r e c t c l a s s i f i c a t i o n r a t e o f 75.51%, r e l i a b i l i t y e s t i m a t e s over .80, and a d i f f e r e n c e between means t h a t i s s i g n i f i c a n t a t .0005. However, as t h e purpose o f th e F.I.A.T. i s t o i d e n t i f y r e m e d i a l s t u d e n t s who are i n need o f r e m e d i a t i o n , and t h i s s u b t e s t c o r r e c t l y i d e n t i f i e d 58.3% o f r e m e d i a l s t u d e n t s as r e m e d i a l , o t h e r s u b t e s t s prove more p o w e r f u l when e n t e r e d i n t o t h e a n a l y s i s i n d e p e n d e n t l y . The A r i t h m e t i c s u b t e s t showed d i f f e r e n c e s between means t h a t were s i g n i f i c a n t , r e l i a b i l i t y e s t i m a t e s above .80 except f o r t h e n o n - r e m e d i a l group (.70) and had a c o r r e c t o v e r a l l c l a s s i f i c a t i o n r a t e o f 66%, c o r r e c t l y i d e n t i f y i n g 68.4% o f t h e r e m e d i a l s t u d e n t s as r e m e d i a l . Word I d e n t i f i c a t i o n c o r r e c t l y i d e n t i f i e d 65.0% of the remedial students as remedial and 71.1% of the non-remedial students as non-remedial. R e l i a b i l i t y estimates are above .80. 62 CHAPTER V SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS SUMMARY The purpose of t h i s study was to examine the a b i l i t y o f the French I n d i v i d u a l achievement t e s t t o d i s c r i m i n a t e between remedial and non-remedial French immersion students at grades 2 and 5. A review of the l i t e r a t u r e on achievement t e s t i n g i n French immersion and of the c u r r e n t r e s e a r c h i n French immersion i n d i c a t e d t h a t instruments most commonly used t o assess the academic achievement o f Canadian French immersion students were: s t a n d a r d i z e d achievement t e s t s normed on the n a t i v e French speaking p o p u l a t i o n o f Montreal, s t a n d a r d i z e d r e a d i n g t e s t s normed on Na t i v e French speakers, t r a n s l a t i o n s of s t a n d a r d i z e d measures o f achievement, and E n g l i s h achievement t e s t s . Cronbach (1949) advanced t h a t , \" t e s t s must be s e l e c t e d f o r the purpose and s i t u a t i o n f o r which they are t o be used .... What t e s t s are p e r t i n e n t t o be used depends on the i n s t r u c t i o n a l p l a n \" (p.151). In response t o the need f o r a r e l i a b l e and v a l i d French immersion achievement measure, Wormeli and Ardanaz (1987) developed the F.I.A.T. 63 This study addresses the e m p i r i c a l v a l i d i t y o f the instrument or the a b i l i t y of the t e s t t o d i s c r i m i n a t e between remedial and non-remedial groups at grades 2 and 5. At the grade 2 l e v e l only the Word I d e n t i f i c a t i o n s u b t e s t of the F.I.A.T. d i s c r i m i n a t e d between the remedial and non-remedial groups at a s i g n i f i c a n c e l e v e l o f .01. Although r e l i a b i l i t y e stimates were above .80 f o r a l l s u b t e s t s e x c e p t i n g f o r the A r i t h m e t i c subtest (.75 when c a l c u l a t e d f o r the non-remedial group) and Passage Comprehension sub t e s t (below .60 when computed f o r both groups i n d i v i d u a l l y and combined), the S p e l l i n g , A r i t h m e t i c and Passage Comprehension s u b t e s t s were unable to d i s c r i m i n a t e between groups at a s i g n i f i c a n c e l e v e l o f .01. A n a l y s i s of the A r i t h m e t i c and Passage Comprehension s u b t e s t s i n d i c a t e d t h a t the remedial and non-remedial groups o b t a i n e d equal means. This f i n d i n g suggests t h a t the F.I.A.T. i s not an a c c u r a t e s c r e e n i n g instrument at the grade 2 l e v e l . At the grade 5 l e v e l , when su b t e s t s were analysed independently a l l s u b t e s t s except Passage Comprehension d i s c r i m i n a t e d between the two groups at a s i g n i f i c a n c e l e v e l o f .01. 64 When s u b t e s t s were entered s i m u l t a n e o u s l y only S p e l l i n g emerged as a s i g n i f i c a n t d i s c r i m i n a t o r between groups with a c o r r e c t c l a s s i f i c a t i o n r a t e of 75.51%. I n t e r n a l c o n s i s t e n c y r e l i a b i l i t i e s f o r both remedial and non-remedial groups were above .80 except f o r the non-remedial A r i t h m e t i c group. S e v e r a l caveats should be c o n s i d e r e d r e g a r d i n g the weakness of the F.I.A.T. at the grade 2 l e v e l . The s e l e c t i o n process of grade 2 students i n need of r emediation i s done by t e a c h e r o b s e r v a t i o n and nonstandardized t e s t i n g . T h i s f a c t o r may have c r e a t e d a sample t h a t i s not r e f l e c t i v e of students i n need of r e m e d i a t i o n . A second f a c t o r t o be c o n s i d e r e d i n e x p l a i n i n g f o r the s i m i l a r means between remedial and non-remedial groups f o r S p e l l i n g and Passage Comprehension may be t h a t the French immersion c u r r i c u l u m g u i d e l i n e s from which t e s t items were s e l e c t e d may be too d i f f i c u l t at the grade 2 l e v e l f o r the s k i l l s assessed by S p e l l i n g , A r i t h m e t i c and Passage Comprehension s u b t e s t s , or t h a t at the grade 2 l e v e l i t i s too e a r l y t o screen f o r remediation. In s p i t e of the weakness of the F.I.A.T. t o d i s c r i m i n a t e between remedial and non-remedial groups at the grade 2 l e v e l , the development of t h i s 65 instrument i s a major breakthrough i n French immersion r e s e a r c h . French immersion r e s e a r c h has been fraught with a m b i g u i t i e s s i n c e the i n c e p t i o n of i t s f i r s t program i n 1965. With an experimental base, a h i s t o r y and development based on nonstandardized measures and/or t r a n s l a t e d instruments, the c u r r i c u l u m , goals and r e s e a r c h i n French immersion have indeed been v u l n e r a b l e . The development of the F.I.A.T. i s a statement of confidence i n the f u t u r e of French immersion. I t i s acknowledgement from the academic community t h a t French immersion can and w i l l be taken s e r i o u s l y i n e d u c a t i o n a l r e s e a r c h ; t h a t with a p p r o p r i a t e psychometric i n s t r u m e n t a t i o n emerges the p o s s i b i l i t y of French immersion programs with w e l l - d e f i n e d goals and the o p p o r t u n i t y f o r a l l c h i l d r e n t o e n t e r the French immersion i n n o v a t i o n f e a r l e s s l y . LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY The study has s e v e r a l weaknesses t h a t d e t r a c t from i t s d e f i n i t i v e n e s s . The sample s i z e i s s m a l l , p a r t i c u l a r l y f o r the remedial groups. T h i s l i m i t a t i o n i s d i f f i c u l t t o overcome because of the l a c k of a v a i l a b i l i t y of students r e c e i v i n g remediation i n 66 French immersion. The composition of French immersion samples i s always a l i m i t a t i o n i n French immersion r e s e a r c h because of the s e l e c t p o p u l a t i o n e n r o l l i n g i n French immersion. Sample l i m i t a t i o n s are compounded i n t h i s study because remedial students a s s i g n e d f o r remedial s e r v i c e s are done so by teacher o b s e r v a t i o n and i n f o r m a l assessment procedure. In a d d i t i o n , the predominant number of remedial students were r e c e i v i n g r emediation f o r language a r t s r a t h e r than A r i t h m e t i c . The l a t t e r l i m i t a t i o n reduces the d i s c u s s i o n and i n f e r e n c e s t o be drawn as the e f f e c t i v e n e s s of the A r i t h m e t i c subtest i n d i s c r i m i n a t i n g between remedial and non-remedial French immersion st u d e n t s . DIRECTIONS FOR FUTURE RESEARCH O p p o r t u n i t i e s f o r f u t u r e r e s e a r c h i n French immersion are abundant, the ones mentioned i n t h i s p u b l i c a t i o n are those t h a t emerged as the most of desperate need of a d d r e s s i n g and as those t h a t would most r e a d i l y o f f e r French immersion r e s e a r c h c r e d i b i l i t y and growth. 1. F u r t h e r e m p i r i c a l v a l i d i t y s t u d i e s w i t h the F.I.A.T. u s i n g remedial and non-remedial students at d i f f e r e n t grade l e v e l s . 67 C o r r e l a t i o n a l s t u d i e s comparing performance on the F.I.A.T. with the B r i t i s h Columbia Quick I n d i v i d u a l Achievement Test or other E n g l i s h Language Achievement t e s t s . Research i n t o the process of second language l e a r n i n g and r e a d i n g r e a d i n e s s and the development of s t a n d a r d i z e d achievement measures f o r the primary French immersion p o p u l a t i o n . The development of a s c r e e n i n g instrument t h a t i d e n t i f i e s students who would be e l i g i b l e f o r French immersion programs to e l i m i n a t e the p o p u l a t i o n of students who are i d e n t i f i e d at grade 3 as unable to f u n c t i o n i n French immersion and who are then faced w i t h e n t r y t o the r e g u l a r E n g l i s h program having had only a h a l f year exposure t o E n g l i s h Language A r t s . 68 REFERENCES A n a s t a s i , A. (1976). P s y c h o l o g i c a l T e s t i n g . New York: MacMillan. Andrew, CM., Lapkin, S. & Swain, M. (1980). Report of the 197 9 e v a l u a t i o n of a French immersion program and extended French programs i n the Toronto Board Education, grades 5-8. Toronto: The O n t a r i o I n s t i t u t e f o r Studies i n E d u c a t i o n . B a r i k , H.C. & Swain, M. (1974) . E n g l i s h - F r e n c h b i l i n g u a l e d u c a t i o n i n the e a r l y grades: The E l g i n Study. Modern Language J o u r n a l , 58(8), 392-403. B a r i k , H.C. & Swain, M. (1975). Three year e v a l u a t i o n of a l a r g e s c a l e e a r l y grade French immersion program: The Ottawa study. Language Learning, 25, 1-30. B a r i k , H.C, & Swain, M. (1976). A l o n g i t u d i n a l study o f b i l i n g u a l and c o g n i t i v e development. I n t e r n a t i o n a l J o u r n a l of Psychology, 11, 251-261. B a r i k , H.C. & Swain, M. (1978). E v a l u a t i o n of a French immersion program: The Ottawa study through grade f i v e . Canadian J o u r n a l of B e h a v i o u r a l Science, 10, 193-201. Bruck, M., Tucker, G.R., & Jakinuk, J . (1973). Are French immersion programs s u i t a b l e f o r working c l a s s c h i l d r e n ? A follow-up i n v e s t i g a t i o n . Unpublished manuscript, M c G i l l U n i v e r s i t y . Bruck, M., Lambert, W.E., & Tucker, G.R. (1975). A s s e s s i n g f u n c t i o n a l b i l i n g u a l i s m w i t h i n a b i l i n g u a l program: The St. Lambert P r o j e c t at grade e i g h t . Unpublished manuscript, M c G i l l U n i v e r s i t y . Bruck, M . ( 1 9 7 8 ) . The s u i t a b i l i t y of e a r l y French immersion f o r the language d i s a b l e d c h i l d . The Canadian Modern Language Review, 34, 884-887. Buros, O.K. (1985). The N i n t h Mental Measurements Yearbook. New J e r s e y : Gryphon P r e s s . Burns, George, E. (1986). French immersion i n O n t a r i o . Canadian Modern Language Review, 42, Carey, S.T. (1984). R e f l e c t i o n s on a decade of French immersion. The Canadian Modern Language Review, 41, 249-250. Carey, S.T. & Cummins, J . (1983). Achievement, b e h a v i o r a l c o r r e l a t e s the t e a c h e r s p e r c e p t i o n s of Francophone and Anglophone immersion students. 70 The A l b e r t a J o u r n a l of E d u c a t i o n a l Research, 29, 59-67. Crawford, P. (1984) . E v a l u a t i o n o f the French immersion program, Sp r i n g 1983. Willowdale: New York, S p r i n g 1983 Willowdale: New York Board of Edu c a t i o n . Cronbach, L . J . (1970). E s s e n t i a l s of P s y c h o l o g i c a l T e s t i n g . (3rd ed.). New York: Harper and Row. Cronbach, L . J . (1949). Cropley, A .J. (1967). C r e a t i v e i n t e l l i g e n c e and achievement. The A l b e r t a J o u r n a l of E d u c a t i o n a l Research, 13, 51-58. Cummins, J . (1977). C o g n i t i v e f a c t o r s a s s o c i a t e d w i t h the attainment of i n t e r m e d i a t e l e v e l s of b i l i n g u a l s k i l l s . The Modern Language J o u r n a l , 61, 3-12. Cummins, J . (1983). Language P r o f i c i e n c y , b i l i t e r a c y and French immersion. The Canadian J o u r n a l of Education, 8_, 117-138. Darcy, N a t a l i e , T. (1953). A review of the l i t e r a t u r e on the e f f e c t s of b i l i n g u a l i s m upon the measurement of i n t e l l i g e n c e . The J o u r n a l of Genetic Psychology, 82, 21-57. Edwards, H.P., C a s s e r l y , M.C. (1976). Research and E v a l u a t i o n of second language (French) programs i n the s c h ools o f the Ottawa Roman C a t h o l i c Separate School Board. (Annual r e p o r t s 1972-1972 and 1972-1973). Toronto: M i n i s t r y of Education, O n t a r i o . Genesee, F. (1976). The r o l e of i n t e l l i g e n c e i n second language l e a r n i n g . Language Learning, 26, (2), 267-280. Genessee, F. (1978). A l o n g i t u d i n a l e v a l u a t i o n of an e a r l y immersion s c h o o l program. Canadian J o u r n a l of E d u c a t i o n . 3(4) 31-50. Genessee, F., P o l i c h , E., & Stanley, M. (1977). An experiemental French immersion program at the secondary s c h o o l l e v e l : 1969 to 1974. Canadian Modern Language Review, 33, 318-32. Holmes, B. (1981). I n d i v i d u a l l y - a d m i n i s t e r e d i n t e l l i g e n c e t e s t s : An a p p l i c a t i o n of order t e s t norming and e q u a t i n g procedures i n B r i t i s h Columbia. Unpublished d o c t o r a l d i s s e r t a t i o n , U n i v e r s i t y of B r i t i s h Columbia. Hopwood, A.L. (1974). Year-one e v a l u a t i o n of L'Ecole B i l i n g u e . (Research Report 1974-1979). Department of E v a l u a t i o n and Research, Board of School Trustees, Vancouver. Lambert, W.E. & P e a l , E. (1982) . The R e l a t i o n of b i l i n g u a l i s m t o i n t e l l i g e n c e . P s y c h o l o g i c a l Monographs: General and A p p l i e d , 76, 1-23. Lambert, W.E., Tucker, G.R. (1972). B i l i n g u a l E d u c t i o n of C h i l d r e n : The St. Lambert experiment. Rowley: Newbury House. Lambert, W.E. (1975). C u l t u r e and language as f a c t o r s i n l e a r n i n g and e d u c a t i o n . In A. Wolfgang (Ed.), Education of immigrant students: Issues and Answers. Toronto: The O n t a r i o I n s t i t u t e f o r S t u d i e s i n E d u c a t i o n s . Lapkin, S., & Swain, M. (1977). The use of E n g l i s h and French c l o z e t e s t s i n a b i l i n g u a l program e v a l u a t i o n . Language Learning, 27, Lapkin, S., Andrew, CM., H a r l s y , B., Swain, M., & Kamin, J . (1981). The immersion and duo-track s c h o o l : A study of the r e l a t i o n s h i p between school environment and achievement i n a French immersion program. The Canadian J o u r n a l of Education, 6, 68-90. Levinson, B.M. (1959). A comparison of the performance of b i l i n g u a l and monolingual n a t i v e born French c h i l d r e n of t r a d i t i o n a l parentage on fo u r i n t e l l i g e n c e t e s t s . J o u r n a l of C l i n i c a l Psychology, 15, 74-76. Mclnnes, C.E., & Donaghue, E.E. (1974). Research and E v a l u a t i o n of second Language programs: F i n a l r e p o r t 1973-1974. Report submitted t o the O n t a r i o M i n i s t r y of E d u c a t i o n . Nie, N. et a l . (1975)/ The S t a t i s t i c a l Package f o r the S o c i a l S c i e n c e s . New York: McGraw-Hill. O i l e r , J.W., J r . (1973). Cloze t e s t s of second language p r o f i c i e n c y and what they measure. Language Learning, 23, 105-118. P e a l , E., & Lamberts, W.E. (1962). The r e l a t i o n o f b i l i n g u a l i s m t o i n t e l l i g e n c e . P s y c h o l o g i c a l Monographs: General and A p p l i e d , 76, 1-23. P i n t e r , R., & K e l l e r , R. (1922). I n t e l l i g e n c e t e s t s of f o r e i g n c h i l d r e n . J o u r n a l of E d u c a t i o n a l Psychology, 13, 214-221. Saer, D.J. (1923). The e f f e c t of b i l i n g u a l i s m on i n t e l l i g e n c e . B r i t i s h J o u r n a l of Psychology, 14, 25-38. S a t t l e r , J.M. (1982) . Assessment o f c h i l d r e n s ' i n t e l l i g e n c e . (2nd e d . ) . B o s t o n , New York: A l l y n & Bacon. S e i d l , J.C. (1937). The e f f e c t o f b i l i n g u a l i s m on t h e measure o f i n t e l l i g e n c e . U n p u b l i s h e d d o c t o r a l d i s s e r t a t i o n , Fordham U n i v e r s i t y . Shapson, S.M. & Day, E.M. (1982) . A L o n g i t u d i n a l e v a l u a t i o n o f an e a r l y immersion program i n B r i t i s h Columbia. J o u r n a l o f M u l t i l i n g u a l and M u l t i c u l t u r a l Development, 3_, 1-16. S i n g h , R. (1986). Immersion: Problems and P r i n c i p l e s . The Canadian Modern Language Review, 42, Smith, F. (1923). B i l i n g u a l i s m and M e n t a l development. B r i t i s h J o u r n a l o f P s y c h o l o g y , 13, 270-282.3. S p i l k a , I.V. (1974). Assessment o f Second-language performance i n immersion programs. The Canadian Modern Language Review, 32, 543-561. Standards f o r E d u c a t i o n and P s y c h o l o g i c a l T e s t s (1974) . Washington, D.C.: A m e r i c a n P s y c h o l o g i c a l A s s o c i a t i o n I n c . S t e r n , C. & R u b l e , D. (1976). T e a c h i n g new c o n c e p t s t o n o n - E n g l i s h s p e a k i n g p r e - s c h o o l c h i l d r e n . In J.E. A l a t i s and K. T w a d d e l l ( E d s . ) . E n g l i s h as a Second Language i n B i l i n g u a l E d u c a t i o n . Washington, D.C.: Teachers of E n g l i s h t o speakers of other languages. Stern, H.H. & o t h e r s . (1976). Three approaches to t e a c h i n g French. O n t a r i o : The M i n i s t r y of Edu c a t i o n . Swain, M. & Lapkin, S. (1977). Beginning French immersion at grade e i g h t . O r b i t , 8_, 10-13. Swain, M. (1979). W r i t i n g s k i l l s of grade t h r e e French immersion p u p i l s . Toronto: The O n t a r i o I n s t i t u t e f o r Studies i n Education, (mimeo). Swain, M. (1974). French immersion programs across Canada: Research f i n d i n g s . The Canadian Modern Language Review, 31, 117-129. Thorndike, R. (1982). A p p l i e d Psychometrics. Boston: Houghton M i f f l i n Co. T r i t e s , M. (1986). B i l i n g u a l i s m and Reasoning A b i l i t y , Masters t h e s i s , U n i v e r s i t y of B r i t i s h Columbia. T r i t e s , R. (1976). C h i l d r e n w i t h l e a r n i n g d i s a b i l i t i e s i n primary French immersion. The Canadian Modern Language Review, 33, 193-207. Tucker, G.R., Hamayan, E. & Genesee, F.H. (1976). A f f A f f e c t i v e , c o g n i t i v e and s o c i a l f a c t o r s i n second 76 language a c q u i s i t i o n . The Canadian Modern Language Review, 32, 214-216. Vgotsky, L.S. (1962). Thought and Language. Mass.: The MIT P r e s s . Whorf, B. (1956) . Language, Thought and R e a l i t y . Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Pre s s . W i l l i g , (1987). Examining B i l i n g u a l Research through M e t a - a n a l y s i s and N a r r a t i v e Review: A Response t o Baker. Review of E d u c a t i o n a l Research 5_7, (3) 363-376. Wilton, F . (1974). I m p l i c a t i o n s f o r a second-language program: The Coquitlam experience. The Canadian Modern Language Review, 31, 169-171. Wormeli, C.T. (1984). B.C. Quick I n d i v i d u a l Achievement T e s t . Doctor o f Educati o n T h e s i s , U n i v e r s i t y o f B r i t i s h Columbia. Wormeli, C.T. (1984). B.C. Quiet. Vancouver, B.C.: U n i v e r s i t y o f B r i t i s h Columbia. Wormeli, C.T. (1983) . The Development o f the B r i t i s h Columbia Quick I n d i v i d u a l E d u c a t i o n a l Test. Unpublished d o c t o r a l d i s s e r t a t i o n , U n i v e r s i t y of B r i t i s h Columbia, Vancouver. 77 APPENDIX A 79 THE UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA FACULTY OF EDUCATION EDUCATION CLINIC 2125 MAIN MALL VANCOUVER, B.C. V6T 1Z5 1987.02.19 Dear Parent: sc h o o l has agreed to p a r t i c i p a t e i n the development of an i n d i v i d u a l i z e d achievement t e s t f o r elementary school c h i l d r e n e n r o l l e d i n French immersion programs. This p r o j e c t r e q u i r e s the c o o p e r a t i o n of c h i l d r e n e n r o l l e d i n grades 1-7. T h e i r p a r t i c i p a t i o n w i l l p r o v i d e i n f o r m a t i o n which w i l l be used t o complete the development of a new t e s t (the Canadian French Immersion Achievement T e s t ) . T h i s p r o j e c t i s being undertaken because of concern over the need f o r v a l i d and r e l i a b l e t e s t s f o r French immersion p u p i l s . I t i s endorsed by the Superintendent of your school d i s t r i c t and by the P r i n c i p a l of your s c h o o l . The f i n a l v e r s i o n of the t e s t w i l l e v a l u a t e reading, s p e l l i n g and a r i t h m e t i c . I t w i l l a s s i s t educators and p s y c h o l o g i s t s i n making d e c i s i o n s about the e d u c a t i o n a l needs of s p e c i f i c c h i l d r e n . Your c h i l d ' s name was randomly drawn as a p o s s i b l e p a r t i c i p a n t i n t h i s p r o j e c t . I f you and your c h i l d agree t o p a r t i c i p a t e , w i l l be asked t o take p a r t i n a t e s t i n g s e s s i o n approximately f o r t y minutes long. Your c h i l d w i l l be informed by the examiner before t e s t i n g begins t h a t p a r t i c i p a t i o n i s v o l u n t a r y and t h a t t e s t i n g w i l l be stopped i f your c h i l d wishes. T e s t i n g w i l l be performed by a t r a i n e d examiner at your c h i l d ' s s chool d u r i n g s c h o o l hours i n March 1987. The r e s u l t s o f t e s t i n g w i l l be s t r i c t l y c o n f i d e n t i a l ; your c h i l d ' s name w i l l not appear on the t e s t forms. No i n d i v i d u a l t e s t r e s u l t s w i l l be r e l e a s e d . The 81 CANADA F.I.A.T. PARENT CONSENT FORM I give permission f o r my son/daughter to be tested f o r the French Immersion Achievement Test. Signature of parent/guardian I am unwilling to have my son/daughter involved i n the te s t i n g Signature of parent/guardian "@en . "Thesis/Dissertation"@en . "10.14288/1.0097748"@en . "eng"@en . "Special Education"@en . "Vancouver : University of British Columbia Library"@en . "University of British Columbia"@en . "For non-commercial purposes only, such as research, private study and education. Additional conditions apply, see Terms of Use https://open.library.ubc.ca/terms_of_use."@en . "Graduate"@en . "An empirical validity study of the Canada French individual achievement test"@en . "Text"@en . "http://hdl.handle.net/2429/28171"@en .