A retrospective study on the effects of the Voy A Leer Escribiendo (VALE) program on the Spanish reading achievement of Spanish-speaking first-grade students from 1993 to 1995.

摘要

The problem. The purpose of this study was to measure the effects of the VALE program on the Spanish reading of Spanish-speaking, first-grade students in the Los Angeles Unified School District.;Method. A retrospective study using a pre-experimental static group comparison was conducted. Posttest scores of 1,025 students from 4 schools between 1993 and 1995 were examined. The Aprenda test, first edition, was used to compare reading and language scores for students who received VALE and Whole Language instruction.;Results. Data failed to support 4 null hypotheses, which predicted no significant difference in reading and language achievement for VALE students as compared to Whole Language students for the school years 1993 to 1994 and 1994 to 1995. Correlation coefficients were statistically significant at the .05 level of confidence. VALE students' (N = 206) mean scores in reading for 1993 to 1994 of 41.34 were significantly higher than 36.41 (N = 258) for Whole Language students. Language mean scores for VALE students (N = 230) of 46.48 were significantly higher than scores of 41.46 for Whole Language students (N = 284) for 1993 to 1994. For the school year 1994 to 1995, VALE students (N = 261) had a mean score of 40.33 in reading compared to 35.43 for Whole Language students (N = 206). Language mean scores for VALE students (N = 250) of 44.79 were significantly higher than Whole Language students (N = 220) of 40.10. Both control (Whole Language) and experimental (VALE) groups received instruction in Spanish.;Results of this study supported the premise that reading instruction that includes an emphasis on phonemic awareness presented by a motivating computerized delivery system with consistent teacher training and support is directly related to the reading and language achievement of the student.