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There are two main challenges when estimating the diagnostic accuracy of new language ability measures: (a) using an a priori diagnosis of children (with and without primary language impairment) as a reference may introduce error given there is no gold standard for the a priori classification; and (b) classifying children into two groups may underestimate the number of language ability groups, or, alternatively, a single group may characterize the continuum of language performance. Latent profile analysis (model-based reasoning) was applied in this study to examine the number and nature of distinct language ability groups in an unclassified sample of 431 predominately Spanish-speaking children, 5-7 years old, learning English. Groups were identified based on language sample analyses, language-processing measures and non-verbal cognitive abilities. A transition matrix was created to show how participants changed groups across four assessment methods based on conditional probabilities for group membership. Results suggested more than two distinct language ability groups in the population with the method of assessment influencing the number and characteristics of the groups.
IES# R324A080024 |
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