Much is unknown about those who do not finish high school and there is a need to understand who enters and completes alternative high school completion programs, such as the HiSet (High School Equivalency Test), GED (General Education Development Test), or growing number of state sponsored high school equivalency programs. The purpose for…

Measures of positive well-being are needed to support the shift away from a deficit-based approach to mental health. This study examined one measure, the Mental Health Continuum-Short Form (MHC-SF), as a measure of positive well-being used in school-based mental health monitoring efforts. This study used latent profile analysis (LPA) to explore…

This research captures the experiences of high school graduates who were labeled English Learners while they were enrolled in a public high school in the greater Sacramento area of California. The study examined what these bilingual high school graduates report as beneficial and detrimental experiences faced while completing the course…

Introduction: The investigation of school belonging is crucial due to its established significant associations with mental health, academic achievement, and risky behaviours coupled with the limited research documenting the configurations of children's school belonging experiences. Objective: This study sought to better understand elementary…

Dual-factor models of mental health are increasingly supported but little is known about longitudinal trends in dual-factor mental health. The current study used latent profile analysis (LPA) to empirically identify dual-factor mental health classes at each of Grades 9 through 12 and latent transition analysis (LTA) to examine stability of classes…

Descriptive evidence shows that English learners (ELs) have lower high school graduation and 4-year-college attendance rates than monolingual and fluent English users. Applying the regression discontinuity design to rich administrative data from a large district in California, this study identifies the first causal effects of initial EL…

Under federal civil rights law, U.S. school districts have a dual obligation to provide students identified as English learners (ELs) with designated English-language development (ELD) instruction and integrated ELD support during core content instruction. Drawing on an analysis of interviews with 96 educators in two large California districts, we…

This study estimates the causal impact of 8th grade English learner (EL) reclassification on high school English language arts (ELA) standardized test scores, SAT (Scholastic Aptitude Test) reading, and on-track to graduate status. I apply a regression discontinuity design to rich administrative data from a large district in California. The…

Researchers are concerned that English language learners (ELL) may remain classified too long and, therefore, may not receive appropriate mainstream educational services. In this study, we investigate the effects of language classification on student outcomes in one California school district. Our ordinary least squares regression estimates…

Using latent profile analysis (LPA), this study empirically identified dual-factor mental health subtypes, with a goal of examining structural stability of emerging latent classes over three high school years. Profiles' relations with distal indicators of well-being, psychosocial distress, and self-reported grades were examined to explore the…

The Bilingual Education Act of 1968 and the Lau v. Nichols Supreme court case (1974) have changed the way school districts prioritize education for English Learners. With the same intention to prioritize education for English Learners alongside foster youth and low income, former Governor Jerry Brown and the California legislature followed suit by…

This mixed-methods study couples large-scale analyses of student course-taking with case study data to explore what blocks the gate to enrollment in and successful completion of secondary math courses for students ever classified as English learners (ever ELs). Initial quantitative findings indicate that half of all students across six California…

Employing longitudinal, multisite comparative mixed-methods, we describe patterns of reclassifying and not reclassifying eligible English learner (EL) students to fluent English proficient, and we identify factors impeding and facilitating reclassification. Analyses of administrative data for 7 cohorts of students over 3 years in one district and…

Research has found high repetition rates for students in Algebra I, with one study finding a repetition rate of 44 percent for students in a large urban high school district. Less is known about how math performance and Algebra I course repetition rates vary among students with different levels of English proficiency. This report examines Algebra…

Using linked, individual-level data from a large metropolitan K-12 district and a large urban community college district in California, we examine whether indicators of college-readiness for graduating high school students who were initially classified as English Learners (ELs) are honored in community college course placement. In particular, we…