Learning Enrichment Activities Program

The PPVT-3 (Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test – Third Edition; Dunn & Dunn, 1997) is a test of receptive vocabulary ability. During this test, the examiner states a word and the student is shown a page with four line drawings. The examiner asks the child to point to the picture that matches the word. The CELF-P (Clinical Evaluation of Language Fundamentals Preschool; Wiig, Secord, & Semel, 1992) is a measure that includes three receptive language subtests and three expressive language subtests. For this project, children were only tested with the receptive language subtests. The three receptive language subtests are Linguistic Concepts, Basic Concepts, and Sentence Structure. During these subtests children are asked to point with a finger. These subtests do not require children to speak in order to respond to the questions.

The Linguistic Concepts subtest evaluates children’s ability to comprehend and execute oral directions that contain concepts like either, or, and not. During this subtest, children are shown pictures of groups of animals. They are asked to point to the animals in response to the examiner’s directions (e.g., “Before you point to the mouse, point to the snake.”). Some of the items require children to execute multilevel commands (e.g., “Touch the mouse after you touch the snake and lion.”).

The Basic Concepts subtest assesses children’s knowledge of modifiers. During this subtest, children are shown three pictures and asked to point to the illustration that represents the concept stated by the examiner. (E.g., “Show me the one that is small.”) These concepts include size, quantity, direction, and equality. The Sentence Structure subtest evaluates children’s comprehension of sentence formation rules. During this subtest, children are shown three illustrations and asked to point to the picture that best represents the sentence stated by the examiner (e.g., “Point to: He ate the orange.”). The sentences increase in length and structural complexity. The scores on these three subtests can be combined to form the Receptive Language score.

Fine Motor Skills

The VMI-4 Motor Coordination Subtest (Beery, 1997) was used to measure student’s fine motor skills. The full name for the VMI-4 is the Berry-Buktenica Developmental Test of Visual-Motor Integration -Fourth Edition. During this test, children are asked to draw shapes within a specified path. Children are required to stay within the lines to receive credit for an item.

Nonverbal Cognitive Abilities

The Block Design Subtest from the WPPSI-R (Wechsler Preschool and Primary Test of
Intelligence-Revised; Wechsler, 1989) was used as an estimate of children’s nonverbal cognitive abilities. This measure requires children to manipulate two-color blocks to replicate geometric patterns. The skills required include visual-motor coordination, spatial visualization, and perceptual organization.

Spanish Language Measures

The PLS-3 (Preschool Language Scale – 3; Zimmerman, Steiner, & Pond, 1992) Auditory Comprehension Scale is a measure of receptive language ability. It requires knowledge of vocabulary, language structure, and concepts like time and quantity. The TVIP (Test de Vocabulario en Imagenes Peabody; Dunn, Padilla, Lugo, & Dunn, 1986) is a test of receptive vocabulary ability. During this test, children are presented a word and shown a page with four line drawings. Children are required to point to the picture that matches the word stated by the examiner.

Format of Test Scores

All of the tests used for this study are individually administered tests that yield standard scores. A test is standardized by testing a large number of persons who are representative of those who will take the test in the future. Scores are calculated by comparing a person’s performance to those in the group that the test was standardized on. For this study, participants were compared to diverse samples of students their same age. If a student’s standard score was the same at the beginning and the end of the school year, the student could generally be said to have displayed growth in ability that was typical of their agemates during that period.

Many standardized tests use scores that have a mean of 100 and a standard deviation of 15. This indicates that a score of 100 is the midpoint. Students who score between 90 and 110 are considered to be within the average range. Five of the tests selected for this project use standard scores in which a score of 100 is average. These tests are: CELF-P Receptive Language, PPVT-3, TVIP, PLS-3, and VMI-4 Motor Coordination. For the three Receptive Language subtests of the CELF-P and the Block Design subtest of the WPPSI-R, a scaled score of 10 is average.