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Abstract
This study explored the effectiveness of a Transitional Bilingual Education (TBE) program in a small eastern Connecticut town. The literature has reported conflicting data regarding the effectiveness of such programs.
The sample consisted of all students enrolled in the seventh and eighth grades during the 1982-83 school year who, according to school records, were of Puerto Rican descent. They were divided into two groups, those who did not participate in the bilingual program at the elementary school level and those who did.
This study investigated the following questions: (1) Are there any differences between students who did and did not participate in a Transitional Bilingual Program with respect to the Grade Point Average? (2) Are there any differences between groups with respect to rate of absenteeism at the elementary school level? (3) Are there any differences between groups with regard to special education referral? (4) Are there differences between students who did and did not participate in a Transitional Bilingual Education program with respect to their scale scores on the SAT?
The data used for the analysis was: (1) Grade Point Average (GPA) of students' sixth and seventh grade years; (2) the students' scores on the Stanford Achievement Test taken during October, 1982; (3) the incidence of special education referral; and (4) the rate of absenteeism. The data were collected from the students' permanent school records.
The results showed that this TBE model was partially successful in that the experimental group was not significantly different from the comparison group across SAT subtests. Gender differences were found favoring males in the comparison group and females in the experimental group.
