Predicting First Grade Reading Achievement for Spanish-Speaking Kindergartners: Is Early Literacy Screening in English Valid?

This study explored the viability of using kindergarten measures of phonological awareness, alphabet knowledge, and orthographic knowledge, administered in English, to predict first grade reading achievement of Spanish-speaking English language learners. The primary research question was: Do kindergarten measures of early literacy skills in English predict first grade reading achievement for Spanish-speaking students as effectively as they do for English speakers? Participants were 3,448 economically disadvantaged students (50% spoke Spanish at home) from 243 schools. Regression analyses demonstrated 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) and that fall and spring variables were equally effective in predicting later achievement for both groups.