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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.
KEYWORDS: achievement, high school, limited English proficient, opportunity to learn, tracking.
One of the most significant demographic shifts affecting education in the United States is the burgeoning growth of students who speak a language other than English at home. Nearly one in five of school age youth speaks a language other than English in the home.1 As of the 2002-2003 academic year, 10.2%2 of all U.S. students were considered limited-English-proficient (LEP) students or English learners.3 In Grades K-12, English learner enrollment increased by more than 104% during the 1990s, while overall enrollment increased by only 13%.'' The bulk of the growth in the K-12 population can be attributed to students who are either immigrants or the children of immigrants. This demographic shift has been felt more profoundly in some areas of the country than in others. More than 40% of all California K-12 students speak a language other than English at home, and 26% are English learners.5 Nearly a third (31%) of California English learners are enrolled in Grades 7 to 12.
These demographic changes have drawn attention to a linguistic achievement gap: the difference in academic performance between English-proficient students and English learners (Thomas £ Collier, 2002). English learners typically demonstrate poor academic achievement; for example, LEP students scored an average of 1.2 standard deviations below non-LEP populations in both the 1998 and 2002 eighth-grade National Assessment of Academic Progress reading tests. Whether LEP students' poor performance on these tests was the result of...