Best Practices for English Language Learners in Massachusetts: Five Years After The Question 2 Mandate

Educating English language learners (ELLs) presents a challenge for teachers and policy makers; the population of ELLs increases, yet their achievement trails that of their native English-speaking peers. In November 2002, Massachusetts voters supported a law that mandated Sheltered English Immersion (SEI) as the primary means of instruction for ELLs, effectively ending transitional bilingual education. This report examines key considerations in educating ELLs, and in implementing SEI in Massachusetts schools. It also presents case studies of three schools making significant strides with ELLs through innovative programming built around SEI methods yet maintaining important bilingual education practices that promote educational equity. Cross-case analysis identified themes about strategic data use, staff recruitment, and supports for students and families.     

Assessments to evaluate bilinguals: The overdue discussion of the deaf and hard of hearing student population in the United States

Assessment is a major part of the United States schooling system. Legal requirements make assessment a large part of practitioner responsibilities. The significance of assessment is, even more, the case for special populations such as bilingual hearing and Deaf and Hard of Hearing students, groups that are often the target of concern for English language development delays, differences, and/or disorders. In this article, we discuss the issues around assessing the language of Deaf and Hard of Hearing bilingual students in the United States. We highlight parallels between Deaf Education and hearing bilingual education in regard to language assessment, as well as discuss important distinctions such as the placement of Deaf Education within Special Education and working with two or more language modalities (e.g., signed, spoken, and written). In addition, alternative language assessment practices are discussed. We close this article by proposing ways for practitioners to satisfy legal and field mandates to assess Deaf and Hard of Hearing students while also applying best practices for assessing language skills in bilingual populations.     

Predictors and outcomes of early versus later English language proficiency among English language learners

The development of English language learners (ELLs) was explored from kindergarten through eighth grade within a nationally representative sample of first-time kindergartners (N = 19,890). Growth curve analyses indicated that, compared to native English speakers, ELLs were rated by teachers more favorably on approaches to learning, self-control, and externalizing behaviors in kindergarten and generally continued to grow in a positive direction on these social/behavioral outcomes at a steeper rate compared to their native English-speaking peers, holding other factors constant. Differences in reading and math achievement between ELLs and native English speakers varied based on the grade at which English proficiency is attained. Specifically, ELLs who were proficient in English by kindergarten entry kept pace with native English speakers in both reading and math initially and over time; ELLs who were proficient by first grade had modest gaps in reading and math achievement compared to native English speakers that closed narrowly or persisted over time; and ELLs who were not proficient by first grade had the largest initial gaps in reading and math achievement compared to native speakers but the gap narrowed over time in reading and grew over time in math. Among those whose home language is not English, acquiring English proficiency by kindergarten entry was associated with better cognitive and behavioral outcomes through eighth grade compared to taking longer to achieve proficiency. Multinomial regression analyses indicated that child, family, and school characteristics predict achieving English proficiency by kindergarten entry compared to achieving proficiency later. Results are discussed in terms of policies and practices that can support ELL children's growth and development.     

Relationship between language proficiency and growth during reading interventions

Many English language learners (ELLs) experience difficulties with basic English reading due in part to low language proficiency. The authors examined the relationship between English language proficiency and growth during reading interventions for ELLs. A total of 201 second- and third-grade students with a variety of home languages participated. The students were identified as needing a targeted intervention, because scores on the fall oral reading fluency screening measure fell below the benchmark criterion. Thus, all participating students received reading interventions approximately four times each week throughout the school year. Results indicated that those students identified in the lowest English proficiency stage on the Assessing Comprehension and Communication in English State-to-State (ACCESS) made the highest growth as indicated in the spring benchmark assessment, and the ACCESS score added negligible variance beyond baseline reading skills. Implications for practice and research are discussed.     

Predictors and Outcomes of Early vs. Later English Language Proficiency Among English Language Learners

The development of English language learners (ELLs) was explored from kindergarten through eighth grade within a nationally representative sample of first-time kindergartners (N = 19,890). Growth curve analyses indicated that, compared to native English speakers, ELLs were rated by teachers more favorably on approaches to learning, self control, and externalizing behaviors in kindergarten and generally continued to grow in a positive direction on these social/behavioral outcomes at a steeper rate compared to their native English-speaking peers, holding other factors constant. Differences in reading and math achievement between ELLs and native English speakers varied based on the grade at which English proficiency is attained. Specifically, ELLs who were proficient in English by kindergarten entry kept pace with native English speakers in both reading and math initially and over time; ELLs who were proficient by first grade had modest gaps in reading and math achievement compared to native English speakers that closed narrowly or persisted over time; and ELLs who were not proficient by first grade had the largest initial gaps in reading and math achievement compared to native speakers but the gap narrowed over time in reading and grew over time in math. Among those whose home language is not English, acquiring English proficiency by kindergarten entry was associated with better cognitive and behavioral outcomes through eighth grade compared to taking longer to achieve proficiency. Multinomial regression analyses indicated that child, family, and school characteristics predict achieving English proficiency by kindergarten entry compared to achieving proficiency later. Results are discussed in terms of policies and practices that can support ELL children's growth and development.     

THE CONFIDENCE TO TEACH ENGLISH LANGUAGE LEARNERS: EXPLORING COURSEWORK'S ROLE IN DEVELOPING PRESERVICE TEACHERS' EFFICACY

As our schools become increasingly diverse and the effects of immigration can be felt across the nation, some states have mandated that preservice teachers take endorsement courses that focus on teaching English Language Learners (ELLs) with the purpose of ensuring that teachers are able to meet ELLs' social and academic needs. A significant factor in improving instructional practices for ELLs is preservice teachers' confidence in their ability to teach ELLs successfully. What remains to be seen, however, is how best to organize and implement endorsement courses so that they have a positive effect on teachers' confidence to use their new knowledge to teach in effective ways. In this study, we discuss how endorsement curricula can build teachers' self-efficacy for teaching ELLs by not just covering the required content, but by being conscientious in how the curricula are organized and delivered. By providing teachers with the foundational knowledge through the use of meaningful and engaging pedagogical practices, preservice teachers' efficacy and beliefs about instructing ELLs will increase. This, in turn, will provide them with the confidence to teach those who may be very different culturally and linguistically from themselves.     

Investigating Parent and Professional Perspectives Concerning Special Education Services for Preschool Latino Children

Population changes in the US have created new challenges for service providers responsible for screening, determining eligibility, and providing appropriate educational services to young English Language Learners (ELLs). Six focus groups (two each) with administrators, teachers, and parents were conducted in two different locations to investigate the referral, diagnostic evaluation, and placement of prekindergarten Latino children who are ELLs and their families. The purpose of this study was to: (a) identify effective practices that differentiate between cultural/linguistic differences and learning differences; (b) identify the gaps in the current special education services; and (c) make recommendations to reduce the disproportionate representation of young ELL children based on these data. The results revealed a number of factors contributing to the disproportionality of young ELL children in special services such as: inconsistent screening and evaluation methods; insufficient numbers of bilingual professionals and trained interpreters; communication barriers and contradictory procedures that undermine meaningful partnerships with parents of ELLs; the need for professional development on the purposes and administration procedures of screening and evaluation tools; and a need for policy and regulation changes pertaining to ELL children such as the timing of screenings and evaluations.     

Integrating Science And English Proficiency For English Language Learners

Despite the expectation that all students should achieve high academic standards, content area instruction and English for speakers of other languages instruction for English language learners (ELLs) have traditionally been conceptualized as separate domains, resulting in educational inequities for ELLs. This is because effective instruction to promote academic achievement for ELLs requires integration of content and language. Such inequities are more pronounced in urban schools where ELLs are disproportionately represented. In science education, research on instructional interventions to simultaneously promote science and English proficiency of ELLs has begun to emerge in recent years. Grounded in this emerging research literature, we offer specific instructional strategies to integrate science and English proficiency for ELLs in five domains: (a) literacy strategies with all students, (b) language support strategies with ELLs, (c) discourse strategies with ELLs, (d) home language support, and (e) home culture connections.     

Profiles in Bilingualism: Factors Influencing Kindergartners’ Language Proficiency

Three common assumptions concerning bilingual children’s language proficiency are: (1) their proficiency in two languages is usually unbalanced; (2) low socioeconomic status (SES) indicates low proficiency in both languages; and (3) encouraging parents to speak some societal language at home will promote its development. Examining the vocabulary scores of 282 bilingual Singaporean kindergartners (167 Chinese, 70 Malay, and 45 Tamil), the current study found that these young children were evenly divided among four language profiles: strong in ethnic language (Chinese, Malay or Tamil) or English, strong in both languages, or weak in both. Children with high proficiency in both languages were proportionally represented in the low, middle and high SES groups, demonstrating the achievability of strong vocabulary in two languages for children of different SES. However, low SES children were most at risk for low proficiency in both languages, although many achieved high proficiency in ethnic language or both. Middle and high SES children were most likely to demonstrate low ethnic language with high English proficiency. Children mostly exposed to one language from different sources generally showed strength in that language. Children exposed to both languages at home were most likely to show low proficiency in both languages, although plenty of children exposed to both languages developed high proficiency in English or both. These results affirm previous findings that SES and home language exposure influence bilingual children’s proficiency. Implications include the importance of teachers assessing bilingual children’s proficiency in both languages and collaborating with parents to develop bilingual children’s vocabulary.     

Formative Information Using Student Growth Percentiles for the Quantification of English Language Learners’ Progress in Language Acquisition

English language learners (ELLs) are the fastest growing subgroup in American schools. These students, by a provision in the reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, are to be supported in their quest for language proficiency through the creation of systems that more effectively measure ELLs’ progress across years. In the past, ELLs’ progress has been based on students’ prior scores measuring the same construct. To disentangle effectiveness from achievement, the reporting has generally targeted mean-group activity. In contrast, student growth percentiles (SGPs) provide a comparison of students’ growth with others who have the same achievement score history. By examining the construct measured by an English language proficiency test as manifested in student scores in Speaking, Listening, Reading and Writing, this article outlines the use of SGPs in providing information on how much each student needs to grow, which will allow educators to more effectively apply differential formative instructional strategies.     

Comprehension monitoring and reading comprehension in bilingual students

This study explored comprehension monitoring, use of reading strategies and reading comprehension of bilingual students at different levels of perceived proficiency in Italian. The participants were bilingual fifth to eighth‐grade elementary school students from four Italian schools in Rijeka, Croatia. Students' reading comprehension was assessed. Their comprehension monitoring skill was measured on the Metacomprehension test and through use of a cloze task. The Strategic Reading Questionnaire (SRQ) was used as a self‐report measure of strategic reading. A questionnaire investigating Italian language use and perceived proficiency in the Italian language was also administered. Perceived proficiency in Italian was not clearly determined by early or late preschool age of second language acquisition. Bilingual students with high perceived proficiency in Italian (high PP group) had better meta‐cognitive reading skills than those with low perceived proficiency in Italian (low PP group). Comprehension monitoring was the most important predictor of reading comprehension in all students.     

Examining the Validity of Standards-Based Assessments for Initially Fluent Students and Former English Language Learners

To date, assessment validity research on non-native English speaking students in the United States has focused exclusively on those who are presently English language learners (ELLs). However, little, if any, research has been conducted on two other sizable groups of language minority students: (a) bilingual or multilingual students who were already English proficient when they entered the school system (IFEPs), and (b) former English language learners, those students who were once classified as ELLs but are now reclassified as being English proficient (RFEPs). This study investigated the validity of several standards-based assessments in mathematics and science for these two student groups and found a very high degree of score comparability, when compared with native English speakers, for the IFEPs, whereas a moderate to high degree of score comparability was observed for the RFEPs. Thus, test scores for these two groups on the assessments we studied appear to be valid indicators of their content knowledge, to a degree similar to that of native English speakers.     

The Effects of Test Accommodations for English Language Learners: A Meta-Analysis

A meta-analysis using Hierarchical Linear Modeling (HLM) was conducted to examine the effects of test accommodations on the test performance of English language learners (ELLs). The results indicated that test accommodations improve ELLs' test performance by about 0.157 standard deviations—a relatively small but statistically significant increase. Once the potential predictors that may have contributed to the variance of the effect sizes across studies had been accounted for, only English proficiency was found to be significant. Further, the results indicated that ELLs with a low level of English proficiency benefited much more from test accommodations than did those with a high level of English proficiency. Little difference was observed in regard to other factors such as students' ethnicity, students' grade level, or the subject for which they were being examined. Although previous studies have suggested that linguistic simplification may be more effective than other methods, results from this meta-analysis offered no support for that suggestion.     

Curriculum-based measurement yearly growth rates: An examination of English Language Learners and native English speakers

The use of curriculum-based measurement (CBM) is supported by several decades of research regarding their technical adequacy, practical utility, and use with diverse populations. Questions remain regarding the measurement of growth using tri-annual reading CBM (R-CBM) assessment. Existing research on annual rates of growth is inconclusive with some studies suggesting that the most growth occurs from the fall to the winter and others finding growth accelerates from winter to spring. With a sample of students in third through fifth grades, consisting of a high percentage of English Language Learners (ELLs) and students exited from bilingual instruction, this study found that Non-ELL students demonstrated semester differences in R-CBM growth consistent with prior research in third and fourth grades, but not in fifth grade. However, this pattern was not always consistent for ELLs and students recently exited from bilingual instruction, suggesting that conclusions regarding semester differences in R-CBM growth rates should not be consistently extended to ELLs.     

English Language Proficiency and Bilingual Verbal Ability Among Chinese,Dominican, and Haitian Immigrant Students

This article describes English language proficiency and bilingual verbal ability for a sample of 209 students aged 10 to 16 from three immigrant groups—Chinese, Dominican, and Haitian. Sources of data included structured student interviews, parent interviews, and individual language assessments. On average, students' English language proficiency was far below their age and grade level with significant differences among the groups. Estimates of students' language ability improved once their skills in their first language were considered as demonstrated by the bilingual verbal ability scores. Results from this study demonstrate the need to consider both English and first language skills in assessing the language abilities of these students and in promoting educational access and equity for recent immigrants.     

Scaffolding English language learners' mathematical talk in the context of Calendar Math

Teachers of elementary mathematics face multiple, convergent demands. These demands include supporting the growing population of English language learners (ELLs) and facilitating mathematical discussions across relevant curricular contexts. The authors used a comparative case study to examine how two teachers attempt to facilitate discussions while enacting a Calendar Math curriculum, in Grade 4 classrooms with high concentrations (>50%) of ELLs. The authors found that these teachers' use of Calendar Math did not provide a supportive context for conceptually based discussions. However, teachers did support ELLs in mathematical discussions by including display questions, elaborating student responses, modeling the use of mathematical vocabulary use, and use of self-talk. Teachers differed with regard to how often they elaborated responses, used vocabulary, the amount of teacher speech and the length of lessons. We discuss what these practices may mean for ELLs.     

Scaling Up Success for English Language Learners in Charter Schools: Exploring the Role of Charter School Authorizers

Abstract

The population of English language learners (ELLs) and the number of charter school students have both increased rapidly over the past two decades, but no existing research has examined the role that charter school authorizers play to ensure that ELLs have equitable access to charter schools and that those schools implement research-based programs for ELLs. To fill this gap, our exploratory qualitative study employed a multiple-case case study approach to examine how 10 diverse authorizers considered ELLs in their authorizing practices. Guided by Honig’s (2006) three Ps framework (people, places, and practices), we examined how authorizing practices were shaped by external factors, the agency of the actors within the authorizing office, and by the local context in which the authorizer was situated. Overall we found that ELL-related authorizing practices varied widely across the sample, as some authorizers integrated ELLs into their practices, while others paid little explicit attention to ELLs. In terms of place, contextual factors at the state, district, and authorizer levels contributed to the variation. Within the people component of the framework, the commitment of authorizing staff members to improve access and quality for ELLs in charter schools was an important factor, as was the authorizer’s access to ELL-related expertise. We conclude by outlining implications for research, practice, and policy.     

Assessment of Bilingual/Multilingual Pre-K–Grade 12 Students: A Critical Discussion of Past,Present, and Future Issues

This article examines major unresolved challenges in the assessment of pre-K–grade 12 multilingual students in US public schools. The ethnic educator approach advocates for a change of paradigms in assessment, one that abandons the medical model to incorporate socio-constructivist theoretical perspectives and pluralistic and progressive social justice ideologies that respect, value, and celebrate the cultural-linguistic diversity of bilingual/multilingual students. Past, present, and future challenges in the assessment of multilingual students are discussed, emphasizing the need: (a) for teacher preparation programs to include training in classroom-based assessments, (b) to use the students' first language for linking assessment to academic competence across content areas, and (c) to use classroom-based assessments representing the students' cultural and socio-economic status (SES) backgrounds. Some recommendations for future research on best practices in the assessment of bilingual/multilingual students are made.     

English language learners who struggle with reading: language acquisition or LD?

We review empirical research on English language learners (ELLs) who struggle with reading and who may have learning disabilities (LD). We sought to determine research indicators that can help us better differentiate between ELLs who struggle to acquire literacy because of their limited proficiency in English and ELLs who have actual LD. We conclude that more research is warranted to further elucidate the strengths and learning needs of subgroups of underachieving ELLs, to help us determine who should qualify for special education, and to clarify why some ELLs who do not have LD still struggle with language and literacy acquisition. Future research should account for the complexities involved in becoming literate in another language and focus more on cultural and contextual factors that affect student achievement.     

When learning a second language does not mean losing the first: bilingual language development in low-income, Spanish-speaking children attending bilingual preschool

This article discusses two investigations which explored the bilingual language development outcomes of comparable groups of low-income, Spanish-speaking, Mexican American children who either did or did not attended a bilingual (Spanish/English) preschool. Study 1 is a replication of a study by Rodríguez, Díaz, Duran, and Espinosa, involving a new sample of 26 children who attended bilingual preschool for one year and 20 control children who remained at home. Study 2 represents a 1-year, longitudinal follow-up of Rodríguez et al.'s, sample of children during and after the children spent another year at home or in the preschool. In both investigations, standardized, objective measures of three components of children's language proficiency (productive language, receptive language, and language complexity) in English and Spanish were obtained at the beginning and end of the academic year. Contrary to fears that have been expressed by some that early exposure to English would lead to children's native language loss, the results of both studies offered no evidence of Spanish proficiency loss for children attending bilingual preschool. Children who attended bilingual preschool, compared to those who remained at home, showed significant and parallel gains in Spanish language development as well as significant and greater increases in English language proficiency over time. Results are discussed in terms of the need for more systematic research to be conducted in this area to inform policy and practice in the early education and development of language-minority children.