Although dual language learners (DLLs) are linguistically, culturally, and socially diverse, researchers usually study them in aggregate and compare them to non-DLLs. The authors' purpose was to identify subgroups of preschool DLLs using latent class analysis. There were 7,361 DLLs and 69,457 non-DLLs. Results revealed three distinct classes.…

This study provides a basis for understanding how long it typically takes English language learners (ELLs) in seven Washington school districts to achieve reclassification as former ELLs. Researchers looked at ELLs' grade level and English proficiency at school entry, as well as their gender, home language, race/ethnicity, special education…

Despite federal and state laws and regulations that require states and local districts to provide English language learners (ELLs) with support services, prior research has indicated that ELLs are, in general, lagging behind non-ELLs in academic achievement. An unanswered question is whether the initial designation of students as ELL influences…

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…

Effectively educating the large English learner population requires policymakers to ensure developmentally appropriate settings and services throughout the time students are learning English, as well as during their transition to fluent English proficient status--a process termed "reclassification." Using longitudinal student-level data…

English Language Learners (ELLs) are one of the fastest-growing K-12 populations across the nation. Educating secondary ELLs poses a unique challenge to U.S. schools. For instance, ELLs tend to experience high rates of poverty and attend segregated, underfunded, and unsafe schools. With the "League of United Latin American Citizens vs.…

Purpose: Classifying children into two language ability groups, with and without language impairment, may underestimate the number of groups with distinct language ability patterns, or, alternatively, there may be only a single group characterized by a continuum of language performance. The purpose of the current study was to identify the number…

This study uses 9 years of longitudinal, student-level data from the Los Angeles Unified School District to provide updated, empirically-based estimates of the time necessary for English learners (ELs) to become reclassified as proficient in English, as well as factors associated with variation in time to reclassification. To illustrate how…

This study analyzes Achieve3000, Lexia Core 5, and Imagine Learning software programs designed to increase student literacy levels in a six-week summer school program. The Brainology program was also used with 4th to 6th grade students to determine if there was an increase in growth mindset. Three elementary schools with the highest percentages of…

The present study was commissioned by the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (ESE) to provide a profile of Massachusetts English Language Learners (ELLs) and policy recommendations for improving their outcomes. ESE was concerned about previous study findings that most of these learners exited ELL instructional programs…

Guam is home to the largest population of migrants from the Freely Associated States (FAS): the Federated States of Micronesia, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, and the Republic of Palau. FAS students made up 22 percent of total student enrollment in Guam public schools in 2012. FAS students face a number of challenges when they enter Guam…

Since 2008 Australia has held the National Assessment Program: Literacy and Numeracy (known as NAPLAN) for all students in years 3, 5, 7 and 9. Despite the multilingual character of the Australian population, these standardized literacy and numeracy tests are built on an assumption of English as a first language competency. The capacity for…

Schools are under increasing pressure to reclassify their English learner (EL) students to "fluent English proficient" status as quickly as possible. This article examines timing to reclassification among Latino ELs in four distinct linguistic instructional environments: English immersion, transitional bilingual, maintenance bilingual,…

Schools are under increasing pressure to reclassify their English learner (EL) students to "fluent English proficient" status as quickly as possible. This article examines timing to reclassification among Latino ELs in four distinct linguistic instructional environments: English immersion, transitional bilingual, maintenance bilingual,…

Using eight waves of longitudinal data on a statewide kindergarten cohort of English learners (ELs), I examined ELs' tenure in language-learning programs and their academic performance following reclassification as fluent English proficient. I employed discrete-time survival analysis to estimate the average time to and grade of reclassification…