Study Finds Widespread Segregation of California's English Learners

[Harold F. Schiffman]

Tue Apr 18 09:43:00 2006 Pacific Time

      Study Finds Widespread Segregation of California's English Learners;
Some Schools Face Challenges in Educating Students From Up to 26 Language
Backgrounds

       SANTA BARBARA, Calif., April 18 (AScribe Newswire) -- A new study
finds that California's English learners -- students who are not yet
proficient in English -- attend highly segregated schools, which hinders
their educational opportunities. The study found that, at the elementary
school level, more than half of California's English learners attended
just 21 percent of the state's public schools, where they comprised more
than 50 percent of the student body. The study also found that 80 schools
in the state have English learners from more than 20 language backgrounds.
The study was conducted by researchers from the University of California
Linguistic Minority Research Institute (UC LMRI), a systemwide center
based at UC Santa Barbara. According to the researchers, segregation
limits educational opportunities for English learners, or ELs, in several
ways. First, many English learners in California are handicapped by their
lack of access to native English speakers, who serve as language "role
models." Second, most English learners in California come from low-income
homes, so high concentrations of English learners also means many English
learners attend low-income schools, a significant disadvantage. Third,
schools with high concentrations of English learners are less likely to
have fully certified teachers than schools with low concentrations of
English learners, even after accounting for differences in school poverty.

       The study has important implications for state policy at a time
when California and other states with high concentrations of English
learners are struggling to meet state and federal accountability goals,
including those imposed by the federal No Child Left Behind Act.  "These
findings show that some schools face much greater challenges in educating
students and meeting state and federal mandates than other schools, and
they should be given the support and resources to meet those mandates,"
said Russell W. Rumberger, director of the UC institute.  Current funding
formulas, he added, are simply based on the number of ELs in the school,
not the language diversity or concentration.

       In addition to Rumberger, who is also a professor at the Gevirtz
Graduate School of Education at UC Santa Barbara, the researchers involved
in the study were Patricia Gandara, associate director of the institute
and a professor of education at UC Davis, and Barbara Merino, also a
professor of education at UC Davis.  The study was based on data from the
2004-05 California Basic Education Data System (CBEDS) and the 2005
Language Census collected from all California public schools. It was
published in the latest issue of the UC LMRI newsletter (Where
California's English Learners Attend School and Why It Matters) and is
available online at:
http://lmri.ucsb.edu/publications/newsletters/v15n2.pdf.

       The study found widespread language diversity in California's
public schools. Although 85 percent of California's English learners speak
one language -- Spanish -- most schools in the state serve a number of
language groups. More than 4,000 schools in California -- almost half of
the schools in the state -- have English learners from at least six
language backgrounds, and 80 schools have EL students from more than 20
language backgrounds. Although most schools have a concentration of
English learners from only one or two language groups, 183 schools in
California have 10 or more students in five or more language groups.
Serving a large number of languages, the scholars said, presents a
different challenge for schools. For instance, locating and organizing
staff and volunteers who can communicate with all the various language
communities may be difficult. And grouping students for instruction by
teachers able to communicate with them in their own language is
organizationally much more challenging. Schools where the vast majority of
English learners come from one or two language groups, in contrast, have
more educational options for meeting the needs of their students. Such
schools can more easily offer primary language instruction if the parents
request it. Even if schools only provide English immersion programs,
schools with a concentration of only one or two non-English language
groups may be able to provide bilingually certified teachers who can
communicate with all of the children, can more readily assess the
educational needs of all of their students, and can more easily
communicate with students' parents.

       The authors make several recommendations for addressing the problem
of segregation and language concentration in California schools. First,
the state should develop more options for English learners to reduce their
segregation, and provide improved working conditions and additional
incentives for qualified teachers to teach in schools with high
concentrations of English learners. Second, the allocation of resources to
schools should be based on more than simply the number of English
learners, but should consider the concentration and language backgrounds
of the English learners in the schools, since these factors also influence
the opportunities and constraints that exist in meeting the needs of
English learners. Third, the state should support the training of more
bilingually certified teachers. Not only are bilingually certified
teachers able to provide primary language instruction and support in
schools that continue to offer such programs, these teachers are the most
skilled at working with English learners and their families, irrespective
of the type of instructional program they are in.

       Four charts based on 2005 data accompany this news release (or view
them at http://www.ia.ucsb.edu/pa/display.aspx?pkey=1438) :

       -- Percent of California Schools and English learner (EL)
enrollment by Concentration of English learners

       -- Percent of California schools and EL enrollment by number of
non-English Languages spoken

       --Percent of California schools and EL enrollment by number of
non-English language groups with 10 or more students

       --Percent of California schools and EL enrollment by specific
language groups with 10 or more students

       ABOUT UC LMRI

       The University of California Linguistic Minority Research Institute
(UC LMRI) was established in 1984 in response to the California
Legislature's request that the University of California's Office of the
President (UCOP) pursue "?knowledge applicable to educational policy and
practice in the area of language minority students' academic achievement
and knowledge," including their access to the University of California and
other institutions of higher education. The systemwide headquarters has
been located at UC Santa Barbara since 1987 and an Education Policy Center
was established at UC Davis in 1997 to disseminate research findings to
policy makers. To carry out its mission, the UC LMRI funds research by UC
faculty members and graduate students; provides professional development
for researchers, educators, and policymakers; and disseminates information
on educational issues affecting linguistic minorities, as well as racial
and ethnic minorities, and immigrants. More information is available on
the institute's Web site: http://lmri.ucsb.edu/

       - - - -

       CONTACT: Russell Rumberger, 805-893-2250, russ at lmri.ucsb.edu.

       Paul Desruisseaux, 805-893-8273, paul.d at ia.ucsb.edu

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