Will English language learners eventually acquire these skills later in their K-12 education as their English proficiency improves?
While the available NAEP data doesn’t make that clear, federal data indicates that graduation rates for students overall and for English learners are roughly the same, but can vary widely by state: New York, Louisiana, and Nebraska had the lowest high school graduation rates for English learners in the 2019-2020 school year, at 52% or lower, while non-English learners had graduation rates of 83% or higher.
a Recent Reports The New York Education Trust report highlighted disparities in student achievement for Black, Latino, low-income, disabled and multilingual students. It noted that only 15% of multilingual third-graders were rated “proficient” on the state’s 2022-23 English language arts assessment.
“If students are proficient in reading by the end of third grade, they are more likely to be engaged in learning across all subjects and experience continued success over the course of their academic careers,” the report explains. “Given the relationship between third-grade ELA achievement and future student success, these findings should sound a warning.”
Issues on the ground
In Gonzalez’s view, a major obstacle to improving education for English language learners is the curriculum materials that school districts choose to provide, and he acknowledged that a shortage of bilingual teachers in some parts of the country is also a factor.
Gonzalez said he feels dual language programs would best support English learners, but the reality is that four in five students are in English-only classes.
be Teacher Survey According to a survey her organization released in 2022, about 80% of teachers with at least one English language learner student said their curriculum doesn’t offer research-backed practices to support those students.
“We’ve heard very loud and clear that teachers feel underprepared, and that’s a big problem in the field,” Gonzalez said. “We’re really trying to change some of the systemic things that are going on in the field. We feel like there’s so much that happens in the day-to-day learning, but the curriculum is really the foundation for all of the learning that’s happening.”
Even if a teacher speaks Spanish, one of the most common first languages among English language learners, they may find six or seven languages being spoken in the classroom. Gonzalez says the best solution is for teachers to have materials they can use with any English language learner.
Gonzalez added that doing well on fourth-grade tests depends on how prepared students were before they started kindergarten. Strong reading skills in one’s native language can improve progress in English, but not all multilingual students start school with such a strong foundation, Gonzalez explained.
Ultimately, she said, the education sector also needs to change its thinking when it comes to English language learners. Part of that, Gonzalez said, is for teachers in all areas — English, math, science — to have the desire to deliver inclusive lessons that include multilingual students.
While there is still much work to be done, she says there are more conversations about inclusion of English language learners than when she began her tenure at the forum seven years ago, including from publishers and curriculum developers who are keeping English language learners in mind in their design processes.
Gonzalez noted that in some parts of the country, English learners make up a significant portion of the student body, including in California, where they make up 100% of the student body. About 20 percent of K-12 students in public schools.
“Given the fact that we have the fastest growing student population in public schools in the U.S., we can no longer put it on the back burner,” she said, “It’s been on the back burner for the last 20 years, and nothing has changed. At least, this is what our students deserve.”
