Early Linguistic Attainment, Family Background and Performance in 16 + Examinations

This study presents data collected towards the end of their school careers from pupils originally studied at preschool age as part of the Bristol Language Development Study. Data were originally collected on various aspects of the early language development of these children and, in particular, on naturally occurring language in the home, based on recorded samples of verbal interactions. More recently, data have been collected on the 16+ examination performance of these children as they reach the end of compulsory schooling. The analysis demonstrates a considerable degree of continuity between early language development and later examination performance, and also a strong relationship between family background and examination residts and a moderate relationship between family background and early language measures. Further analysis provided some support to a model which accounts for the relationship across time in terms of the influence of social background on both early and later measures. A model which has early language as a key factor in explaining the relationship between family background and examination results received little support from the data