We examined the reading and math performance of English Language Learner boys and girls in Grades 3, 4, 5, and 6 as a function of early-exit or late-exit transitional bilingual education program. Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills Reading and Mathematics scores of all English Language Learner boys and girls who were enrolled in either early-exit or late-exit bilingual education programs were analyzed for the 2008-2009, 2009-2010, and 2010-2011 school years. Results were not consistent across reading and math, across the 4 grade levels, and across the 3 school years. On the TAKS Reading test, 5 instances were present in which statistically significant differences were revealed for boys and 11 for girls. On the TAKS Mathematics test, 8 statistically significant results were revealed for boys and 6 for girls. These statistically significant differences were not consistently in favor of either the early-exit or the late-exit bilingual education programs. Moreover, the differences that were present reflected small to trivial effect sizes. As such, neither the early-exit nor the late-exit bilingual education program was demonstrated to be more effective than its counterpart.
An Exploration Of The Gaps Between Research, Policy, And Practice In Bilingual Education Programs In The United States