This report summarizes results from a 2020 spring survey of 8th-grade students in the middle school Dual Language Program. Most students indicated they felt proud to be bilingual, appreciated the opportunities to receive high school and college credit, and wanted to continue Dual Language in high school.

Background or Context: Dual language education aims to foster the development of bilingualism, biliteracy, sociocultural competence, and academic skills in all school subjects. Early correlational research suggests that participation in dual language education is associated with higher achievement. Recent studies leveraged more comprehensive sets…

The Latino English Language Learner population continues to rise each year in our schools, currently accounting for over 10% of all K-12 students in the United States (Cheung, 2019). Even with this growth in population, Latinos continue to lag behind other races in academic attainment and advancement in postsecondary success (NCES, 2019). This…

This study represents an extension of the findings of Kieffer and Thompson (2018) and evaluates potential correlates of state- and district-level achievement gaps in reading and mathematics between monolingual and multilingual students. Using data from the National Assessment of Educational Progress, this study reported that there were substantial…

This paper reports math and reading academic achievement and growth in grades 2 to 8 for Hispanic participants and nonparticipants of a Spanish-English dual language program. I apply a piecewise multilevel growth model to administrative data from a large school district that enrolls a substantial English Learner student population. Dual language…

This three-article dissertation examined how policy choices in three key policy areas -- initial enrollment, service provision, and reclassification -- impact English learner (EL)-classified students. The first article examined the national landscape of state statutes, regulations, and state education agencies' (SEA) guidance that support…

This article examines the language proficiency and achievement outcomes of Latino students enrolled in a dual language programme who varied by language proficiency (Native English speakers, Current English Language Learners--ELLs, Fluent English Proficient/Previous ELLs). Most previous research has not disaggregated Latino students, especially…

With few exceptions, accountability systems for programs for English language learners (ELLs) have focused on the achievement patterns of ELLs who are still considered "limited English proficient" and program evaluations have been unable to answer the question whether ELLs actually catch up with English proficient peers after attending a bilingual…