The purpose of this study was to examine the influence that participation in a two-way bilingual elementary program has had on former program participants' language and achievement outcomes; current schooling path and college plans; and attitudes toward school, self, and others. Study participants were current high school students who were…

Among 56 Mexican American fifth-graders participating in two-way bilingual education for 3 years or more, standardized test scores of both English-dominant and Spanish-dominant participants equalled or surpassed those of nonparticipant peers. Participants developed high levels of English literacy skills, but Spanish literacy was not as well…

Examines essential components of quality two-way bilingual immersion programs. Discusses language acquisition research underlying context-embedded content-area instruction in a second language; research on the benefits of bilingualism in terms of academic, cognitive, and metalinguistic development; and the link between bilingualism and positive…

This study investigated the effect of a bilingual education program on the achievement gap in language development between at-risk kindergarten students with minimal English proficiency and students who were proficient English speakers. Limited English Proficient (LEP) students were included in an Extended Foreign Language (EFL) program designed…

This digest reports on a study that examined the impact of participation in a two-way immersion program on the language and achievement outcomes of former program participants and on their current schooling path and college plans. The study explored outcomes for three groups of students: (1) Hispanic students who began the two-way program as…

A study investigated parent attitudes toward a dual-language (Spanish/English) immersion program of bilingual education, in which both English-speakers and non-English-speakers are participating students and English is used no more than 50 percent of the time for instruction. The 20-item (agree/disagree format) survey elicited opinions from 200…

A Massachusetts two-way bilingual education program provides initial first-language (L1) literacy development for all students, teaches half of the curriculum in L1 and half in L2 by third grade, and selectively integrates native and non-native speakers of the target language. Both target groups meet academic and linguistic goals by fifth grade.…

The two-way bilingual language arts portfolio was designed to help teachers, administrators, parents, and others understand the level of language arts development of students in the two-way bilingual program. It was originally conceived as a method of student assessment, to substantiate teachers' observations that students were making significant…

This report describes a program that was designed to end the isolation typically experienced by language minority students in traditional bilingual education and to provide language majority students the opportunity to acquire proficiency in a second Language. The program served 4 classes of approximately 22 students each (85 students) in…

The two-way bilingual education program in Port Chester, New York, in which both native English-speaking and limited-English-proficient native Spanish-speaking students are given instruction in both languages, is described and its outcomes evaluated. Data on the performance of language-minority and language-majority students, gathered from…

A case study of Davis Bilingual Magnet School in Tucson (Arizona) observed and interviewed teachers, parents, students, and community members. The school's success results from strong community support and an educational environment that privileges Spanish. Although Davis students do well on standardized tests, the school's greatest pride comes…

A Chicago two-way bilingual immersion magnet school gives equal regard to English and Spanish and values student cultures. Other features include family atmosphere, student-centered instruction, and strong parent and community collaboration. Students, including low-income limited-English-speaking students, consistently score high in English…

The progress report on the Amigos two-way bilingual education program in the Cambridge (Massachusetts) public schools describes: research on the achievement in mathematics, Spanish, and English of Amigos students and students in control/comparison groups; data gathered on students' and parents' attitudes toward bilingualism and biculturalism;…

Dual language education is a programme that combines language minority and language majority students for instruction through two languages. This book provides the conceptual background for the programme and discusses major implementation issues. Research findings summarize language proficiency and achievement outcomes from 8000 students at 20…

The first-year evaluation of a two-way Spanish/English bilingual education program at two Austin (Texas) elementary schools is presented. The developmental program has as its objectives the development of students' oral proficiency in Spanish and English, development of grade-level appropriate literacy in both languages, increase in academic…