Rebecca M. Callahan

Tracking and High School English Learners: Limiting Opportunity to Learn

Programs and policies related to the education of English learners are often based on the belief that fluency in English is the primary, if not sole, requirement for academic success. While English is in fact necessary for academic success in U.S. schools, so is a strong base in content-area academics. This study investigated the effects of track placement and English proficiency on secondary English learners’ academic achievement while taking students’ previous schooling and length of time enrolled in U.S. schools into account. In the case of a variety of outcomes, track placement was a better predictor of achievement than proficiency in English. Results indicate that track placement is a better predictor of English learners’ academic performance than proficiency in English, highlighting the importance of quality instruction for English learners.

Academic achievement and course taking among language minority youth in U.S. schools: Effects of ESL placement

English as a second language (ESL) is meant to provide a meaningful education for students learning English (ELLs); however, its effects remain largely unexplored. Using longitudinal, nationally representative data from the Educational Longitudinal Study, the authors estimate the effects of ESL placement on language minority (LM) adolescents’ college preparation and academic achievement. Findings indicate that LM students who most closely fit the EL profile (recent immigrant, relatively low English proficiency) experience positive math outcomes and null effects in other academic areas; however, LM students who fit this profile less well experience negative effects. Results suggest that although ESL placement may benefit students most in need and for a limited time after arrival, considerable caution is advised in students’ placement and retention in ESL.

Disproportionality and Learning Disabilities: Parsing Apart Race, Socioeconomic Status, and Language

The disproportionate identification of learning disabilities among certain sociodemographic subgroups, typically groups that are already disadvantaged, is perceived as a persistent problem within the education system. The academic and social experiences of students who are misidentified with a learning disability may be severely restricted, whereas students with a learning disability who are never identified are less likely to receive the accommodations and modifications necessary to learn at their maximum potential. The authors use the Education Longitudinal Study of 2002 to describe national patterns in learning disability identification. Results indicate that sociodemographic characteristics are predictive of identification with a learning disability. Although some conventional areas of disproportionality are confirmed (males and language minorities), differences in socioeconomic status entirely account for African American and Hispanic disproportionality. The discrepancy between the results of bivariate and multivariate analyses confirms the importance of employing multivariate multilevel models in the investigation of disproportionality.

ESL Placement and Schools: Effects on Immigrant Achievement

In this study, the authors explore English as a Second Language (ESL) placement as a measure of how schools label and process immigrant students. Using propensity score matching and data from the Adolescent Health and Academic Achievement Study and the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health, the authors estimate the effect of ESL placement on immigrant achievement. In schools with more immigrant students, the authors find that ESL placement results in higher levels of academic performance; in schools with few immigrant students, the effect reverses. This is not to suggest a one-size-fits-all policy; many immigrant students, regardless of school composition, generational status, or ESL placement, struggle to achieve at levels sufficient for acceptance to a 4-year university. This study offers several factors to be taken into consideration as schools develop policies and practices to provide immigrant students opportunities to learn.

Equity or Marginalization? The High School Course-Taking of Students Labeled With a Learning Disability

Placement of some students into the courses needed only for high school graduation and others into those that prepare them for college constitutes academic stratification. This study uses data from the Education Longitudinal Study of 2002 to investigate whether students labeled with learning disabilities complete fewer academic courses by the end of high school compared to their peers who are not labeled. Results indicate large disparities in completion of college preparatory coursework, especially in math, science, and foreign language, even net of students’ academic preparation for high school and their cognitive and noncognitive skills. The evidence supports the possibility that school processes contribute to the poorer course-taking outcomes of students labeled with learning disabilities.

Preparing the Next Generation for Electoral Engagement: Social Studies and the School Context.

In an era of accountability focused primarily on academic outcomes, it may be useful to reconsider the other original aim of U.S. schools: citizenship development. Using longitudinal, nationally representative data (Adolescent Health and Academic Achievement Study [AHAA] and the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health [Add Health]), we employ multilevel models to investigate the effects of social science programs and other measures of school context on young adult voting and voter registration. Findings suggest that school social science context directly influences young adult electoral engagement to the extent that peers’ social science performance can counteract an individual’s low level of social connection to produce an active voter in young adulthood.

Undermatched? School-Based Linguistic Status, College Going, and the Immigrant Advantage

Considerable research investigates the immigrant advantage—the academic benefit first- and second-generation students experience relative to native-born peers. However, little work examines how school-based linguistic status may influence this advantage. Contradictory patterns exist: Research identifies both an immigrant advantage and a language minority disadvantage in college going. Although not all immigrant youth are language minorities, many do speak other languages. U.S. educators group immigrant students into three discrete linguistic categories: native English speakers, language minorities not in English as a second language (ESL), and English learner (EL) students. We employ multivariate methods to investigate immigrant college going by linguistic status using the Educational Longitudinal Study of 2002. Results suggest an immigrant advantage only among immigrant groups not in ESL and evidence of undermatching—wherein students choose postsecondary options for which they are over-prepared—among high-achieving EL students. Disentangling the immigrant advantage might improve EL students’ college going, stemming this loss of human capital.

Technology and Communications Coursework: Facilitating the Progression of Students with Learning Disabilities through High School Science and Math Coursework.

Students identified with learning disabilities experience markedly lower levels of science and mathematics achievement than students who are not identified with a learning disability. Seemingly compounding their disadvantage, students with learning disabilities also complete more credits in non-core coursework—traditionally considered nonacademic coursework—than students who are not identified with a learning disability. The Education Longitudinal Study of 2002, a large national dataset with both regular and special education high school students, is utilized to determine whether credit accumulation in certain types of non-core coursework, such as technology and communications courses, is associated with improved science and math course taking outcomes for students with learning disabilities. Results show that credit accumulation in technology and communications coursework uniquely benefits the science course taking, and comparably benefits the math course taking, of students identified with learning disabilities in contrast to students who are not identified with learning disabilities.

Finding a Civic Voice: Latino Immigrant Youths' Experiences in High School Social Studies

Socialization into the dominant civic and political discourse lies at the heart of social studies. As they become proficient in the discourse of home and school, Latino immigrant youth demonstrate the potential to uniquely benefit from this socialization. This qualitative study explores ten Latino immigrant young adults’ perceptions of how their social studies experiences shaped their young adult civic selves. Participants internalized not only their parents’ high expectations for them, but also those of their teachers, highlighting the potentially instrumental role of schools in the civic fabric of the nation. In addition, the Latino young adults felt empowered by their social studies teachers via civic expectations and academic encouragement and perceived this empowerment to have facilitated the skill development necessary for later civic leadership. In closing, we reflect on immigrant students’ incorporation of the discourse of the dominant culture with that of the home to develop their own civic voices.

Equitable Access for Secondary English Learner Students: Course Taking as Evidence of EL Program Effectiveness.

Purpose: English learner (EL) education policy has long directed schools to address EL students’ linguistic and academic development without furthering inequity or segregation. The recent Every Student Succeeds Act reauthorization expresses a renewed focus on evidence of equity, effectiveness, and opportunity to learn. We propose that high school course taking patterns provide evidence of program effectiveness and equity in access. Research Design: Using data from the nationally representative Educational Longitudinal Study of 2002, we employ multinomial regression models to predict students’ likelihood of completing two types of high school coursework (basic graduation, college preparatory) by their linguistic status. Findings: Despite considerable linguistic, sociodemographic, and academic controls, marked disparities in high school course taking patterns remain, with EL students experiencing significantly less academic exposure. Implications for Policy and Practice: Building on McKenzie and Scheurich’s notion of an equity trap and evidence of a long-standing EL opportunity gap, we suggest that school leaders might use our findings and their own course taking patterns to prompt discussions about the causes and consequences of local EL placement processes. Such discussions have the potential to raise awareness about how educators and school leaders approach educational equity and access, key elements central to the spirit of EL education policy.