Texas: Two English-Language Learner Programs Come Under Fire

[Harold Schiffman]

Two English-Language Learner Programs Come Under Fire
  by Michelle J. NealyAug 19, 2008
Last month, a Texas court ordered the Texas Education Agency tooverhaul the state�s bilingual education system, citing low testscores and high dropout rates. In Seattle, an outside review of thatpublic school district�s program for immigrant students was deemedweak and in need of restructuring. The program, the evaluators said,�is ad hoc, incoherent and directionless,� the Seattle Times reported.As two different systems struggle to overcome the burden of lowachievement among their English-language learner populations, onescholar recommends providing children with more language supportbefore pushing them into English-only classrooms, among a fewstrategies that may help both systems.
In Texas, Judge William Justice of the U.S. District Court ruled thatthe state failed to properly educate ELL students, reversing a 2007ruling affirming the state bilingual education programs. �The failureof secondary (limited English proficient) students under every metricclearly and convincingly demonstrates student failure, andaccordingly, the failure of the (English as a Second Language)secondary program in Texas,� Justice wrote in his decision.
TEA has until Jan. 31 to develop a new plan for the estimated 140,000junior high and high school English-language learners, although thestate is expected to appeal the court's ruling.
Texas is home to one of the nation�s largest English-language learnerpopulations. An estimated 680,000 students are enrolled in bilingualeducation programs, according to the TEA. Data for the class of 2006show that the graduation rate for students in bilingual or English asa Second Language programs was 41 percent, notably below the staterate of 80.4 percent.
While the elementary students enrolled in Texas� ELL programs areperforming well, the appalling graduation rates among secondarystudents prompted officials from the League of United Latin AmericanCitizens (LULAC), a civil rights organization, to pursue the case.
According to LULAC officials, the TEA�s system of monitoring theperformance of students created �gaps and masks� that distort theproblem of low performance among this cohort of students.
The TEA aggregated test scores and dropout rates of all students andfailed to disclose how specific groups were faring. �The students inelementary schools were doing very well, but the students in highschool were doing poorly,� says Roger Rice, an attorney fromMulticultural Education Training and Advocacy, Inc.
Why is Texas� system failing? That answer is for the state todetermine and remedy, LULAC lawyers argue. Still, some of the system�sshortcomings emerged in court testimony.
�Many of these students were submerged into English and placed intosink or swim situations,� says David Hinojosa, an attorney for theMexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund, who along withRice brought the case on behalf of LULAC and the American GI Forum.Parents of prospective English-language learners have been suspiciousof Texas bilingual education and ESL programs for some time, Hinojosanotes.
Additional reports disclosed teachers lacking command of the languagein which they were instructing, usually Spanish. �In some cases youhad students being taught by teachers they didn�t understand,� Ricesays.
Dr. Elena Izquierdo, associate professor of bilingual/ESL education atthe University of Texas at El Paso, says the problems English-languagelearners face begin in elementary schools.
�They say that the elementary schools are doing well, but they don�tsee the long-term effects,� she says. �The kids are learning Englishbut not content. It�s not about learning English. It�s about learningin English. By the time they hit middle school, the content is behindand the focus [of the curriculum] is content literacy. These studentsget behind and there is a big drop.�
Before joining the faculty at UTEP, Izquierdo served as the principalof the nationally recognized Two Way Dual Language elementary schoolin Washington, D.C. Currently she sits on the executive board of theTexas Association for Bilingual Education.
According to Izquierdo, there are varied approaches to bilingualeducation. The programs that are most effective offer several layersof language support in and outside formal classroom settings.
�The programs that do terribly are programs that exit students afterthree years or four years of support. Students can decode language,but they don�t comprehend it,� says Izquierdo, noting that manystudents also lack analytical skills. �They are learning English atthe expense of their education.�
According to MALDEF officials, the bilingual community in Texas, mostof which is Hispanic, has been aware of the problem for sometime. InTexas, bilingual education courses for limited English proficientstudents are optional.
�When parents deny entry, normally, it is a result of two possiblethings. One [reason] is that the programs are seen in the community asremedial and deficient. Two, the principal, teachers or administratorsare discouraging entry so they do not have to provide those additionalservices,� Hinojosa says. �In some districts, there were denial ratesof 29, 30 and 35 percent.�
Entry denials should hover around 5 percent, Hinojosa adds.
In Seattle, much of the failure stemmed from early ejection ofEnglish-language Learners and the lack of qualified teachers,according to the evaluation report. The Council of Great City Schools,a coalition of 66 of the nation�s largest urban public school systemswhich evaluated the Seattle system, concluded that Seattle immersesnearly 25 percent of its English-Language Learners students in regularclassrooms without much support before they are ready. Izquierdoinsists that students must have language support for a minimum ofthree or four years.
In Texas and nationally, she says, �We have to ensure that we havestrong bilingual programs that allow students to develop cognitivelyin a language they know, so they can handle grade-level material intheir language while, at the same time, having rich English-languageprogram so they don�t get behind.�
http://texasedequity.blogspot.com/2008/08/two-english-language-learner-programs.html
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