Academic Language Competencies - Affordances, Language Processing, and Diagnostics (BiSpra II)

Mastery of the so-called academic language is an important prerequisite for success at school. Although academic language skills are ascribed great importance in educational research and practice, there is still no description of those aspects of language that are summarised under the term educational language. At the same time there are still no valid instruments for recording competences in dealing with these linguistic requirements. Against this background, the project pursued two main objectives: (1) Identification of academic language characteristics which are assumed to play a central role in educational success and at the same time to represent special barriers for children with different family backgrounds [1st funding phase]. Building on this, (2) a diagnostic test procedure based on linguistics and (language) developmental psychology was developed and validated to measure the academic language skills of primary school students. Further, the significance of such skills for academic success was empirically tested [2nd funding phase]. The longitudinal study started in June 2014. In the first survey phase, both the listening comprehension, connector and vocabulary tasks developed in the project and already established tasks for recording general vocabulary, grammar, cognitive basic skills and phonological working memory were used. During the second wave of measurement in June 2015, additional tests on reading comprehension and on mathematical competences were administered. A total of 1,145 second and third graders took part in the surveys. In addition, the parents of these pupils filled in questionnaires about the children’s language acquisition and about the socio-economic and educational background of the family. The teachers were given a questionnaire on teaching experience, teaching design and the composition of the student body. (IQB)

  • Research Design: Quasi-Experimental Design
  • Sample: Students from grade 2 to 4 t1 (N=1,145) and t2 (N=1,018); Classes (N=78); Schools (N=38)
  • DOI: 10.5159/IQB_BiSpra_II_v1
  • Restrictions: No

  • Migration Background
    • Country of birth father
    • Country of birth mother
    • Country of birth child
    • Plan to stay in Germany
    • Mother tongue mother
    • Native language of the father
    • Mastery of the German language
    • Country of acquisition of the professional qualification
    • Start of German language acquisition
    • Frequency with which German is spoken
    • Languages of origin
  • Cultural Capital
    • Number of books in the home
    • Cultural activities (parents and parents with child)
    • Cultural practice family
  • Individual Characteristics
    • Sex child
    • Mother tongue
    • Language of the child
    • Country of birth
    • Age
  • Family Background
    • Number of siblings
    • Mother tongue of mother and father
    • Current employment
    • Description of occupation
    • ISCO
    • ISEI
    • Authority to issue directives of parents
    • Vocational training of parents
    • Highest educational attainment of parents
    • ISCED
    • Parents' years of school attendance
    • Country of acquisition of the parents' school-leaving certificate
    • Parents' school education
  • Learning and Performance-related Attitudes
    • Speech therapy child
    • Language disorder child
    • Hearing disorder child
    • Hearing aid child
    • Partial performance and developmental disorders child
    • Reading - self-concept
  • Educational Biography
    • Attendance at Kindergarten
  • Reading and Writing Habits
    • Reading Strategies (German)
    • Importance of reading
    • Reading (frequency, material, joy of learning)
  • Leisure Activities and Peer Group
    • Activities and activities with child
    • Association and organized youth groups
    • Courses outside the school
  • Parental Educational Practices
    • Activities with child before going to school
  • Professional Experience
    • Years in the teaching profession
    • Subjects taught
  • Professional Education
    • Subjects studied
  • Composition of the Student Body
    • Percentage of children with non-German mother tongue
    • Percentage of families with low educational level
  • Lesson Design/ Teaching Practice
    • Other language with students
  • Classroom Climate
    • Role of language in the classroom
  • School-related Attitudes and Behaviors
    • Self-evaluation in the subject German

  • Domain-Specific Cognitive Competencies
  • Mathematics Achievement
    • Repeating numbers
    • Algorithm and number
  • Test Instrument Mathematics
  • HRT 1-4 - Heidelberger Rechentest
    • Ergänzungsaufgaben
  • Linguistic Competence
  • Test Instrument Language
  • ELFE II - Ein Leseverständnistest für Erst- bis Siebtklässler
  • PPVT-4 - Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test 4
    • Deutschsprachige Fassung des PPVT-III für Jugendliche und Erwachsene
  • TROG-D - Test zur Überprüfung des Grammatikverständnisses
  • in-house development
    • BiSpra-Satz
    • BiSpra-Wort
    • BiSpra-Text
  • German Language
    • Grammar comprehension
  • Reading
    • Grammar and semantics
    • Reading comprehension
  • Listening Comprehension
    • Functional-integrative listening comprehension
  • Vocabulary, passive (Lexicology)
    • Vocabulary
  • Cross-Domain Cognitive Skills
    • nonverbal intelligence
  • Test Instrument Intelligence
  • CFT 20-R - Grundintelligenztest
    • CFT 1
  • KABC-II - Kaufman-Assessment Battery for Children
    • Repeating numbers
Apply for Scientific Use Files
Data Set Published on
Aug. 12, 2019
Current Version Available Since
Aug. 12, 2019
Survey Period
2014, 2015
Sample
Students from grade 2 to 4 t1 (N=1,145) and t2 (N=1,018); Classes (N=78); Schools (N=38)
Survey Unit
  • Parents
  • Teachers
  • Students
Measured Competencies
Listening Comprehension, Connector Understanding, Vocabulary, Grammar, Cognitive Ability, Reading Comprehension, Mathematics Achievement
Region
Baden-Wuerttemberg, Brandenburg, Hamburg, North Rhine-Westphalia
Principal Investigators
  • Stanat, Prof. Dr. Petra
  • Weinert, Prof. Dr. Sabine
Data Producers
  • Otto-Friedrich-Universität Bamberg
  • Weinert, Prof. Dr. Sabine
Funded by
Federal Ministry of Education and Research
Related Studies
Suggested Citation

Data set:

Weinert, S., Stanat, P., Heppt, B., Theisen, E., & Köhne-Fuetterer, J. (2019). Bildungssprachliche Kompetenzen (BiSpra II) - Anforderungen, Sprachverarbeitung und Diagnostik [Academic Language Competencies - Affordances, Language Processing, and Diagnostics (BiSpra II)] (Version 1) [Data set]. Berlin: IQB – Institut zur Qualitätsentwicklung im Bildungswesen. http://doi.org/10.5159/IQB_BiSpra_II_v1

Final Report:

Weinert, S., Stanat, P., Heppt, B. & Schuth, E. (2017). Bildungssprachliche Kompetenzen (BiSpra): Anforderungen, Sprachverarbeitung und Diagnostik (Verbundvorhaben; 2. Förderphase). Schlussbericht. [Final Report] 2016. Bamberg: Otto-Friedrich-Universität Bamberg. [Bamberg: University of Bamberg]. https://doi.org/10.2314/GBV:896641961

Scaling Manual:

Heppt, B., Theisen, E., Weinert, S. & Stanat, P. (2019). Bildungssprachliche Kompetenzen (BiSpra II): Anforderungen, Sprachverarbeitung und Diagnostik. Skalenhandbuch zur Dokumentation der Erhebungsinstrumente der Validierungsstudie [Academic Language Competencies (BiSpra II): Affordances, Language Processing, and Diagnostics. Codebook]. Bamberg u. a.: Otto-Friedrich-Universität Bamberg u. a. [Bamberg et al.: University of Bamberg et al.].

Restriction Notice
Users of the data set should always cite the scale manual and the final report. In addition, there is a requirement that the data user must note the following in a footnote: "The data were collected as part of the BiSpra II project (Head: S. Weinert, P. Stanat; funded by BMBF)."

Blank data sets

For a first overview of the data set and its variables, dummy data sets containing the variables used and the value labels relating to them are provided for download here.

BiSpra II Parents BiSpra II Students BiSpra II Teachers

Documentation

Here you can find further documentation:

BiSpra II Scaling Manual

Further information

Notes on the use of the data

Under Featured Studies, we present articles and research papers using this data that illustrate the potential of secondary analyses.

Literature

Selected literature is listed here.

BISpra II Literature (.bib)

Hürlimann, F., Lüdtke, O., & Schmerse, D. (2025). Language in good company: Unraveling peer effects on language development in early education using integrative data analysis of six German studies. Journal of Educational Psychology. https://doi.org/10.1037/edu0000977

Heppt, B., & Volodina, A. (2024). Diagnostik bildungssprachlicher Kompetenzen mit BiSpra 2–4: Grundlagen der Testentwicklung und empirische Befunde zu einsprachigen und mehrsprachigen Lernenden. In J. Goschler, P. Rosenberg, & T. Woerfel (Eds.), Empirische Zugänge zu Bildungssprache und bildungssprachlichen Kompetenzen (pp. 239–271). Springer Fachmedien Wiesbaden. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-658-43737-4_10

Volodina, A., Heppt, B., & Weinert, S. (2021). Relations between the comprehension of connectives and school performance in primary school. Learning and Instruction, 74, 101430. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.learninstruc.2020.101430

Heppt, B., Volodina, A., Eglinsky, J., Stanat, P., & Weinert, S. (2020). Faktorielle und kriteriale Validität von BiSpra 2 – 4. Diagnostica, 5(2), 1–12. https://doi.org/10.1026/0012-1924/a000259

Heppt, B., & Stanat, P. (2020). Development of academic language comprehension of German monolinguals and dual language learners. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 62, 101868. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cedpsych.2020.101868

Heppt, B., Köhne-Fuetterer, J., Eglinsky, J., Volodina, A., Stanat, P., & Weinert, S. (2020). BiSpra 2-4: Test zur Erfassung bildungssprachlicher Kompetenzen bei Grundschulkindern der Jahrgangsstufen 2 bis 4. Waxmann. https://books.google.de/books?id=zJ0GEAAAQBAJ

Volodina, A., & Weinert, S. (2020). Comprehension of Connectives: Development Across Primary School Age and Influencing Factors. Frontiers in Psychology, 11, 814. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2020.00814

Volodina, A., Weinert, S., & Mursin, K. (2020). Development of academic vocabulary across primary school age: Differential growth and influential factors for German monolinguals and language minority learners. Developmental psychology, 56(5), 922–936. https://doi.org/10.1037/dev0000910

Heppt, B., Theisen, E., Weinert, S., & Stanat, P. (2019). Bildungssprachliche Kompetenzen (BiSpra II): Anforderungen, Sprachverarbeitung und Diagnostik: Skalenhandbuch zur Dokumentation der Erhebungsinstrumente der Validierungsstudie.

Heppt, B., Eglinsky, J., & Volodina, A. (2019). Der Bildungssprachtest BiSpra 2-4: Erfassung bildungssprachlicher Kompetenzen bei Kindern im Grundschulalter. BiSS-Journal, 23–26. https://biss-sprachbildung.de/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/biss-journal-11-november-2019.pdf

Stanat, P., Schuth, E., Heppt, B., Redder, A., & Weinert, S. (2017). Bildungssprachliche Kompetenzen (BiSpra): Anforderungen, Sprachverarbeitung und Diagnostik (Verbundvorhaben) : Forschungsvorhaben im Rahmen des Programms des Bundesministeriums für Bildung und Forschung zur Förderung der empirischen Bildungsforschung im Bereich Sprachdiagnostik/Sprachförderung FiSS (2. Förderphase) : Schlussbericht 2016. Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin. https://doi.org/10.2314/GBV:896641961

Dragon, N., Berendes, K., Weinert, S., Heppt, B., & Stanat, P. (2015). Ignorieren Grundschulkinder Konnektoren? – Untersuchung einer bildungssprachlichen Komponente. Zeitschrift für Erziehungswissenschaft, 18(4), 803–825. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11618-015-0640-8

Köhne, J., Kronenwerth, S., Redder, A., Schuth, E., & Weinert, S. (2015). Bildungssprachlicher Wortschatz - linguistische und psychologische Fundierung und Itementwicklung. In A. Redder & S. Lambert (Eds.), Forschungsinitiative Sprachdiagnostik und Sprachförderung (pp. 67–92). FiSS-Koordinierungsstelle.

Schuth, E., Heppt, B., Köhne, J., Weinert, S., & Stanat, P. (2015). Die Erfassung schulisch relevanter Sprachkompetenzen bei Grundschulkindern – Entwicklung eines Testinstruments. In A. Redder & S. Lambert (Eds.), Forschungsinitiative Sprachdiagnostik und Sprachförderung (pp. 73–92). FiSS-Koordinierungsstelle.

Ebert, S., Köhne, J., & Weinert, S. (2014). Mit Worten Türen öffnen! uni.vers, 42–45.

Heppt, B., Stanat, P., Dragon, N., Berendes, K., & Weinert, S. (2014). Bildungssprachliche Anforderungen und Hörverstehen bei Kindern mit deutscher und nicht-deutscher Familiensprache. Zeitschrift für Pädagogische Psychologie, 28(3), 139–149. https://doi.org/10.1024/1010-0652/a000130

Berendes, K., Dragon, N., Weinert, S., Heppt, B., & Stanat, P. (2013). Hürde Bildungssprache? Eine Annäherung an das Konzept „Bildungssprache“ unter Einbezug aktueller empirischer Forschungsergebnisse. In A. Redder (Ed.), Sprachförderung und Sprachdiagnostik (pp. 17–41). Waxmann.