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

• A brief post-enrolment assessment provides early identification of student literacy needs.
• A validated writing task used en masse is effective for post-enrolment literacy screening.
• Less than two-thirds of the English only students had proficient post-enrolment screening grades.
• More than half the students requiring literacy support had lived only up to 6 year in Australia.
• Post-enrolment proficiency in writing can predict higher grades by the end of first semester.

SummaryBackgroundNursing 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.ObjectivesTo validate a PELA, as a predictor of academic performance.DesignProspective survey design.SettingThe study was conducted at a university located in culturally and linguistically diverse areas of western Sydney, Australia.ParticipantsCommencing 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.MethodBetween 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).ResultsParticipants with a PELA Level 2 or 3 were more likely to be: a) non-Australian-born (χ2: 520.6, df: 2, p < 0.001); b) spoke a language other than English at home (χ2: 490.2, df: 2, p < 0.001); and c) an international student (χ2: 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 (χ2: 40.2, df: 2, p < 0.001); ii) final unit mark (χ2: 218.6, df: 2, p < 0.001), and attain a higher GPA (χ2: 100.8, df: 2, p < 0.001).ConclusionThe PELA is a useful screening tool in identifying commencing nursing students who are at risk of academic underachievement.