Predictive validity of the post-enrolment English language assessment tool for commencing undergraduate nursing students.

BACKGROUND: Nursing students with English as an additional language (EAL) may underperform academically. The post-enrolment English language assessment (PELA) is used in literacy support, but its predictive validity in identifying those at risk of underperformance remains unknown.

OBJECTIVES: To validate a PELA, as a predictor of academic performance.

DESIGN: Prospective survey design.

SETTING: The study was conducted at a university located in culturally and linguistically diverse areas of western Sydney, Australia.

PARTICIPANTS: Commencing undergraduate nursing students who were Australian-born (n=1323, 49.6%) and born outside of Australia (n=1346, 50.4%) were recruited for this study. The 2669 (67% of 3957) participants provided consent and completed a first year nursing unit that focussed on developing literacy skills.

METHOD: Between 2010 and 2013, commencing students completed the PELA and English language acculturation scale (ELAS), a previously validated instrument. The grading levels of the PELA tool were: Level 1 (proficient), Level 2 (borderline), and Level 3 (poor, and requiring additional support).

RESULTS: Participants with a PELA Level 2 or 3 were more likely to be: a) non-Australian-born (χ(2): 520.6, df: 2, p<0.001); b) spoke a language other than English at home (χ(2): 490.2, df: 2, p<0.001); and c) an international student (χ(2): 225.6, df: 2, p<0.001). There was an inverse relationship between participants' ELAS scores and PELA levels (r=-0.52, p<0.001), and those graded as 'proficient' with a PELA Level 1 were more likely to obtain higher scores in their: i) unit essay assessment (χ(2): 40.2, df: 2, p<0.001); ii) final unit mark (χ(2): 218.6, df: 2, p<0.001), and attain a higher GPA (χ(2): 100.8, df: 2, p<0.001).

CONCLUSION: The PELA is a useful screening tool in identifying commencing nursing students who are at risk of academic underachievement.