[lg policy] Kansas: Report: English language learners making gains

[Harold Schiffman]

Report: English language learners making gains
By CHRISTINE ARMARIO

 Schoolchildren who are still learning English made progress on state
tests over the last three years, according to a report that may
indicate tougher accountability standards have resulted in positive
gains among a growing segment of the U.S. public school population. In
a study released Wednesday, the nonprofit Center on Education Policy
looked at the performance of English language learners - those
students with limited English skills - on state tests in math and
reading from 2006 to 2008, the years after federal testing for this
group under the federal No Child Left Behind law became finalized. The
study notes gains across many states: Twenty-five of 35 states with
sufficient data made gains in fourth grade reading among English
language learners. In grades four and eight in reading and math, 70
percent of those states made gains in the number of students scoring
as "proficient."

"The report ought to offer some hope that with all the kids in the
country now who are English language learners because of immigration,
they are progressing," said CEP director Jack Jennings. "Not as fast
as we would want, but the accountability on school districts is
resulting on more attention to these kids and them doing better on
tests." While offering some positive news, the study also noted
significant gaps between proficiency levels among English language
learners and other students: Of the 35 states examined, 11 had
differences of more than 30 percentage points between English-learner
students and their non-ELL counterparts.

The results among states also varied widely: In one state, 87 percent
of high school students were proficient in reading, compared to 6
percent in another. Jennings noted a lack of uniformity among states
in the classification of English language learners and in how they are
tested.

The findings come as the English language learner population continues
to grow: In 2007, 20 percent of U.S. children ages 5 to 17 spoke a
language other than English at home, up from nine percent in 1979.

It also comes about a month after the U.S. Education Department's
Office for Civil Rights announced an investigation into the Los
Angeles Unified School District's low achieving English-language
learning program, to determine whether those students are being denied
a fair education.

The inquiry was sparked by the low academic achievement of the
district's English learners. Only 3 percent are proficient in
high-school math and English.



Read more: http://www.kansascity.com/2010/04/06/1861816/report-english-language-learners.html#ixzz0kWFB6PRv


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