Most English Learners (ELs)care reclassified as English proficient well before graduating from high school based on meeting multiple district-identified proficiency standards, an important achievement on the path to college access, completion, and success in the labor market. Many former ELs also meet separate benchmarks indicating readiness for…

Students classified as English learners (EL) are a protected class of students with core legal rights. There are clear opportunities to strengthen education policies and practices to improve opportunities and outcomes for EL-classified students. This dissertation is comprised of three studies examining key issues in EL education with the goal of…

Black students are about 1.5 times more likely to be receiving special education (SpEd) services relative to white students. While there is concern that this implies some black students are inappropriately placed in SpEd, the impacts of the disproportionate representation of minority students in SpEd remains unclear. Using administrative data from…

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…

Many postsecondary institutions, and community colleges in particular, require that students demonstrate specified levels of literacy and numeracy before taking college-level courses. Typically, students have been assessed using two widely available tests--ACCUPLACER and Compass. However, placement testing practice is beginning to change for three…

The purpose of this chapter is twofold: (1) to provide a detailed review of current language assessment policies and practices with English language learner (ELL) students under the federal requirements of the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB; 2001) and relevant research in order to evaluate their technical quality and validity, and (2) to examine…

In the 1920s, high school students were placed on one of three tracks: high, average, and low. Over the years, vocational education was transformed into a low track assignment for students, often racial minorities, who were perceived as less intelligent. However, the interaction between vocational education and tracking policies and practices…

The imperative that all students, including English learners (ELs), achieve high academic standards and have opportunities to participate in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) learning has become even more urgent and complex given shifts in science and mathematics standards. As a group, these students are underrepresented in…

Every year, the Joint Admission Board (JAB) is tasked to determine those students who are expected to join various Kenyan public universities under the government sponsorship scheme. This exercise is usually extensive because of the large number of qualified students compared to the very limited number of slots at various institutions and the…

In California, Algebra I is the 8th grade math content standard. The United States Department of Education found the annual 8th grade General Math California Standards Test to be out of compliance with the federal No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 since it assesses 6th and 7th grade math standards and not Algebra I math content. In response to the…

The goal of this brief, prepared jointly by the National Hispanic Caucus of State Legislators (NHCSL) and the Tomás Rivera Policy Institute (TRPI), is to bring to policy saliency--at the national, state, and local levels--to the educational crisis caused by the under-achievement of Hispanic youth. Specifically, this report addresses two issues of…

The article examines present policies and practices in special education affecting those children with mild handicapping conditions. (RD)

Oppositely valenced forces may be at work to influence rates of placement of children into mental retardation programs. On one hand, educational policies regarding intellectual disability and concerns about overrepresentation of minorities in special education may contribute to lower placement rates; on the other hand, more difficult intelligence…

The reference bibliography is designed to help state agency personnel, program directors and coordinators, and public and private school planners obtain information for planning services for culturally diverse young handicapped children. Section 1 contains 18 references with general information on special education and cultural diversity. A second…

Program results emerging from policy changes concerning identification and placement of limited-English-proficient (LEP) students in one school district are evaluated. The policy changes permitted students classified as bilingual, English-dominant, or English monolingual to be placed by committee in an appropriate instructional program (bilingual,…