Predicting first grade reading achievement for Spanish-speaking kindergartners: Is early literacy screening in English valid?

The research investigated the effectiveness of using kindergarten measures of phonological awareness, alphabet knowledge, and orthographic knowledge, administered in English, to predict first-grade reading achievement in Spanish-speaking English language learners. The core research question was whether these early literacy skills measured in English could predict first-grade reading achievement for Spanish-speaking students as effectively as they do for English speakers. The study included 3,448 economically disadvantaged students from 243 schools, with 50% of the participants speaking Spanish at home. Regression analyses revealed that kindergarten variables accounted for similar percentages of variance in first-grade reading for both Spanish speakers (43% in fall, 46% in spring) and non-Spanish speakers (49% in fall, 46% in spring). Both fall and spring variables were found to be equally effective in predicting later achievement for both groups.

Literacy Research and Instruction, 53, 269-286