To Be or Not to Be EL

Across the United States, students who are deemed not to be proficient in English are classified as English learners (ELs). This classification entitles students to specialized services but may also result in stigmatization and barriers to educational opportunity. This article uses a regression discontinuity design to estimate the effect of EL classification in kindergarten on students’ academic trajectories. Furthermore, it explores whether the effect of EL classification differs for students in English immersion versus bilingual programs. I find that among language-minority students who enter kindergarten with relatively advanced English proficiency, EL classification results in a substantial negative net impact on math and English language arts test scores in Grades 2 through 10. This effect, however, is concentrated in English immersion classrooms.

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Examining Variability in Language Minority Students’ Reading Achievement: The Influence of School and Ethnic Background Macro Contexts

Journal of Education ◽

10.1177/0022057418800945 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 198 (1) ◽

pp. 78-94

Author(s):

Tingting Reid ◽

Ronald H. Heck

Keyword(s):

Reading Achievement ◽

English Learners ◽

English Language ◽

The United States ◽

Language Minority ◽

Steady Increase ◽

Cultural Backgrounds ◽

Language Minority Students ◽

Diverse Backgrounds ◽

English Speaking

The steady increase in immigration in the United States over the past few decades has focused attention on the necessity for school districts to provide English language services in order for children with diverse language backgrounds to participate fully in public education. In this study, we utilize a large state-representative sample of elementary-aged students from culturally diverse backgrounds to examine gaps in the reading achievement of English learners versus their native English-speaking peers. Our inquiry examines the theoretical importance of micro–macro linkages to assess the relative impacts of school contexts and ethnic/cultural backgrounds on students’ reading achievement.

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Forty years after Lau

Language Problems & Language Planning ◽

10.1075/lplp.39.3.02ari ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 39 (3) ◽

pp. 227-244 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

M. Beatriz Arias ◽

Terrence G. Wiley

Keyword(s):

Human Rights ◽

Minority Students ◽

The United States ◽

Language Minority ◽

Historical Background ◽

Language Minority Students ◽

The Us ◽

Linguistic Human Rights ◽

The Right ◽

Right Of Access

This article addresses the right to an education (including the right of access), and the right to an education in one’s native language, within the broader context of educational human rights, and language minority educational policy in the United States. Included in this discussion is an overview of educational and linguistic human rights as recognized in the US, followed by a review of the legal and historical background prior to the passage of the Lau v Nichols decision in 1974. The implications of demographic changes coupled with federal policy for language minority students forty years after Lau are discussed.

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Analyzing Student Learning Gains to Evaluate Differentiated Teacher Preparation for Fostering English Learners’ Achievement in Linguistically Diverse Classrooms

Journal of Teacher Education ◽

10.1177/0022487117751400 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 70 (4) ◽

pp. 372-387 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Matthew Ryan Lavery ◽

Joyce Nutta ◽

Alison Youngblood

Keyword(s):

Teacher Preparation ◽

Language Arts ◽

English Learners ◽

Teacher Candidates ◽

English Language ◽

Teacher Education Program ◽

Secondary English ◽

Nonnative Speakers Of English ◽

Group 2 ◽

K 12

Researchers compared pre/post classroom assessment scores of n = 8,326 K-12 students taught by n = 288 teacher candidates to determine if a differentiated teacher education program prepared them to support English learners’ (ELs) achievement in classrooms including native and nonnative speakers of English. Candidates in Group 1 comprised academic subject (secondary mathematics, science, and social studies) teacher candidates, who completed six teacher preparation courses with 15 key assignments that included a focus on ELs. Certification areas for Group 2 candidates include language arts instruction (elementary, early childhood, and secondary English language arts). Group 2 candidates completed from 12 to 15 courses with 41 to 50 key assignments that included a focus on ELs. Results indicate that teacher candidates in both groups helped narrow the gap between ELs and non-ELs from pretests to posttests. ELs performed no differently when taught by candidates from either group. Implications for teacher preparation are discussed.

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Bilingual Education: What Role for Mathematics Teaching?

The Arithmetic Teacher ◽

10.5951/at.27.8.0014 ◽

1980 ◽

Vol 27 (8) ◽

pp. 14-17

Author(s):

C. James Lovett

Keyword(s):

United States ◽

Social Studies ◽

Language Development ◽

Language Arts ◽

Bilingual Education ◽

Mathematics Teaching ◽

The United States ◽

Bilingual Programs ◽

Mathematics Educators

The first bilingual schools in the United States were established prior to 1850 (Andersson and Boyer 1970) and bilingual education has existed in some form since that time. In recent years the field has expanded greatly and the literature on bilingual education has increased correspondingly, most of it focusing on general issues of language development and on the specific areas of language arts, reading, and social studies. Very little has been written specifically on the role of mathematics in bilingual classrooms. Not only must interested teachers search for isolated bits and pieces of information, but they also frequently discover that mathematics educators in many cases have been left out of the planning and implementation of bilingual programs.

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Leveled and Exclusionary Tracking

American Educational Research Journal ◽

10.3102/0002831216675404 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 53 (6) ◽

pp. 1792-1833 ◽

Cited By ~ 34

Author(s):

Ilana M. Umansky

Keyword(s):

Language Arts ◽

English Learners ◽

English Language ◽

Institutional Constraints ◽

Urban School District ◽

Proficiency Level ◽

Regression Discontinuity Designs ◽

Educational Tracking ◽

Upper Level ◽

Academic Content

This study examines the characteristics and determinants of English learners’ (ELs’) access to academic content in middle school (Grades 6–8). Following 10 years of data from a large urban school district in California, I identify two predominant characteristics of EL access to content: leveled tracking in which ELs are overrepresented in lower level classes and underrepresented in upper level classes and exclusionary tracking in which ELs are excluded from core academic content area classes, particularly English language arts. Using regression analysis and two regression discontinuity designs, I find evidence that ELs’ access to content is limited by a constellation of factors, including prior academic achievement, institutional constraints, English proficiency level, and direct effects of EL classification. This study contributes to understanding of the experiences and opportunities of students learning English as well as theory regarding educational tracking.

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Equal Educational Opportunity for Language Minority Students: From Policy to Practice at Oyster Bilingual School

Issues in Applied Linguistics ◽

10.5070/l461005207 ◽

1995 ◽

Vol 6 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Rebecca D. Freeman

Keyword(s):

Minority Students ◽

Educational Opportunity ◽

Language Minority ◽

Equal Educational Opportunity ◽

Language Minority Students ◽

Bilingual School

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The Common Core State Standards in English Language Arts in the United States and teaching English language learners: Focus on writing

L1 Educational Studies in Language and Literature ◽

10.17239/l1esll-2014.01.01 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 14 Open issue (Volume 14 Open issue) ◽

pp. 1-13 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

Luciana C. de Oliveira ◽

Michael Maune ◽

Marshall Klassen

Keyword(s):

English Language Learners ◽

Language Arts ◽

Language Learners ◽

Common Core ◽

Common Core State Standards ◽

English Language ◽

The United States ◽

State Standards ◽

Core State ◽

The Common

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The Relation Between easyCBM and Smarter Balanced Reading and Mathematics Assessments

Journal of School Administration Research and Development ◽

10.32674/jsard.v1i1.1906 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 1 (1) ◽

pp. 17-35

Author(s):

Julie Alonzo

Keyword(s):

Language Arts ◽

English Language Arts ◽

English Language ◽

Strong Predictor ◽

The United States ◽

Convenience Sample ◽

Benchmark Assessments ◽

Mathematics Assessments ◽

Reading Measures ◽

Math Score

This study investigated the relation be- tween the easyCBM Benchmark Assessments in both mathematics and reading and the Smarter Balanced assessment, widely adopted across the United States. Data for the study were obtained from a convenience sample of approximately 1,000 students per grade in grades 3-8 provided by two school districts in the Pa- cific Northwest. Results indicate that the easyCBM CCSS math assessments are a strong predictor of the Smarter Balanced total math score, with correlations ranging from .69 to .84 across grades and seasonal benchmarks. Linear regression analyses indicate that the different easyCBM CCSS math measures account for 68% to 77% of the variance in Smarter Balanced total math score. In addition, all of the easyCBM read- ing assessments are significantly related to the Smart- er Balanced English language arts total score, with correlations ranging from .50 to .69 across grades, measure types, and seasonal benchmarks. Linear re- gression analyses indicate that the different easyCBM reading measures account for 50% to 62% of the vari- ance in Smarter Balanced English language arts score.

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The Effects of Inference Instruction on the Reading Comprehension of English Learners With Reading Comprehension Difficulties

Remedial and Special Education ◽

10.1177/0741932518824983 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 41 (5) ◽

pp. 259-270

Author(s):

Colby Hall ◽

Sharon Vaughn ◽

Marcia A. Barnes ◽

Alicia A. Stewart ◽

Christy R. Austin ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Reading Comprehension ◽

Language Arts ◽

English Learners ◽

English Language ◽

Inference Generation ◽

Language Arts Instruction ◽

Rigorous Research ◽

Business As Usual ◽

Average Readers ◽

Below Average Readers

Inference skill is one of the most important predictors of reading comprehension. Still, there is little rigorous research investigating the effects of inference instruction on reading comprehension. There is no research investigating the effects of inference instruction on reading comprehension for English learners with reading comprehension difficulties. The current study investigated the effects of small-group inference instruction on the inference generation and reading comprehension of sixth- and seventh-grade students who were below-average readers ( M = 86.7, SD = 8.1). Seventy-seven percent of student participants were designated limited English proficient. Participants were randomly assigned to 24, 40-min sessions of the inference instruction intervention ( n = 39) or to business-as-usual English language arts instruction ( n = 39). Membership in the treatment condition statistically significantly predicted higher outcome score on the Gates-MacGinitie Reading Test Reading Comprehension subtest ( d = 0.60, 95% confidence interval [CI] [0.16, 1.03]), but not on the other measures of inference skill.

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