This study investigated the Spanish language proficiency of Hispanic students in bilingual education programs in north central New Mexico to determine the relative importance of a bilingual pedagogical approach in the development and retention of the minority language. Students from grades 1-8 (n=105) were subjects. Measures included a Spanish…

This two-stage study measured the bilingual proficiency of Hispanic students using a language dominance/proficiency test to determine rural/urban residence, active language use, socioeconomic stratification, and language attitudes. Results indicated that rural males were more proficient in the minority language, whereas females were the precursors…