Validity of Measures Reflecting Visual Discrimination and Linguistic Constructs for a Sample of Second-Grade Hispanic Children Receiving Reading Instruction in Spanish

Abstract

The concurrent and discriminant validity of La Prueba de Analisis Auditivo (PAA), a Spanish auditory perception test, and the validity of the perceptual deficit hypothesis and of hypotheses derived from verbal processing theory were evaluated in a sample of 114 second-grade Hispanic pupils receiving reading instruction in Spanish. Pupils were assessed on measures representing intelligence, verbal and non-verbal visual discrimination and three linguistic constructs (phonemic segmentation, verbal encoding, and visual-verbal encoding) as well as on a standardized criterion measure of second-grade Spanish reading achievement. The investigators concluded that the perceptual deficit hypothesis was untenable but that hypotheses derived from the verbal processing theory received at least partial support. Phonemic segmentation as measured by the PAA appeared to be statistically independent of other predictor variables as well as a statistically valid and educationally meaningful predictor of second-grade Spanish reading achievement.