Teachers who work with English as a Second Language learners will find ESL/ESOL/ELL/EFL reading/writing skill-building children's books, stories, activities, ideas, strategies to help PreK-3, 4-8, and 9-12 students learn to read.
Data (Demographics, Facts, and Figures)
A Statistical Portrait of the Foreign-Born Population at Mid-Decade
by Pew Hispanic Center
Pew Hispanic Center. (2006). A Statistical Portrait of the Foreign-Born Population at Mid-Decade. Pew Hispanic Center: Washington, DC.
Topics Covered:
Data (Demographics, Facts, and Figures);
Tags:
Asian ELL Students;
Latino ELL Students;
Other ELL Students (Middle Eastern, African, European, etc.);
Target Population: Preschool, Elementary, Middle, High School, Post-Secondary
Research Questions the Report Poses: None; document is a collection of graphs and charts
Summary: This is a collection of 32 tables that examine various demographic categories of foreign-born individuals in the United States as of 2005. Some of the charts have comparisons to year 2000 data.
Findings:
None; collection of tables.
Policy Recommendations:
None; collection of tables.
California's Linguistic Minority Public School Students, 2005
by University of California Linguistic Minority Research Institute / Russell W. Rumberger
Rumberger R. California's Linguistic Minority Public School Students, 2005. (2005). Santa Barbara, California: University of California Linguistic Minority Research Institute.
Topics Covered:
Data (Demographics, Facts, and Figures);
Tags:
Fluency;
Language Proficiency;
Latino ELL Students;
Target Population: Elementary school, middle school, high school
Research Questions the Report Poses: None; merely presentation of data
Summary: This document contains a chart that has the grade breakdowns of all linguistic minority students in the state of California as well as grade breakdowns of just Spanish-speaking linguistic minority students in the state. All data are from the 2004-05 school year.
Findings:
- In the 2004-2005 school year, 2.6 million of California's 6.3 million schoolchildren were classified as linguistic minorities. This equates to 42 percent of schoolchildren.
- Of those 2.6 million, 1.6 million are classified as English Learners (EL) while the other 1 million are classified as Fluent English Proficient (FEP)
Policy Recommendations:
None
To order a hard copy of the report, contact:
The University of California Linguistic Minority Research Institute
Russell W. Rumberger, Director
University of California, Santa Barbara
4722 South Hall, MC 3220
Santa Barbara, CA 93106-3220
E-Mail: russ@lmri.ucsb.edu
Phone: (805) 893-2250
Fax: (805) 893-8673
Children in Immigrant Families - The U.S. and 50 States: National Origins, Language, and Early Education
by Child Trends and the Center for Social and Demographic Analysis at SUNY-Albany / Donald Hernandez, Nancy Denton, and Suzanne Macartney
Hernandez, D., Denton, N., and Macartney, S. (2007, April). Child Trends and Children in Immigrant Families - The U.S. and 50 States: National Origins, Language, and Early Education. Albany, NY: Center for Social and Demographic Analysis at SUNY-Albany
Topics Covered:
Data (Demographics, Facts, and Figures);
Higher Education and Careers;
Learning Disabilities and Special Education;
Literacy and Reading / Writing Instruction;
Literacy and Reading / Writing Instruction;
Early (Pre-K);
Tags:
Asian ELL Students;
Bilingual Instruction;
Bilingualism / Biliteracy;
Latino ELL Students;
Other ELL Students (Middle Eastern, African, European, etc.);
Parent Involvement and Outreach / PTA;
Target Population: Preschool
Research Questions the Report Poses: None; instead makes the case that newcomer families and the children within them are, and will continue to be, a significant demographic in American education
Summary: At the time of this report's publishing, children from newcomer families (families with at least one foreign-born parent) account for 20 percent of the nation's schoolchildren. This research brief, whose data is based on the year 2000 census, makes the case that children of newcomer families will continue to make up a significant portion of American schoolchildren, especially since rates of white, non-Hispanic schoolchildren are expected to decline in the coming decades. The report notes that the specific national origin of newcomer families varies widely from state to state. It also makes the assertion that the nearly 50% of children in newcomer families who speak both English and another language well represent a great opportunity to promote bilingualism in the United States. However, the nearly 25% of children in newcomer families who live in linguistically isolated households will continue to pose a challenge for the American education system. The report also cites children from newcomer families going to pre-school with lower prevalence than children from native born families.
Findings:
- 25 percent of children from newcomer families have a parent who was born in the United States.
- Two-thirds of children from newcomer families have parents who have lived in the United States for ten or more years.
- 80% of children from newcomer families are US citizens
- Almost 60% of children have at least one parent who speaks English exclusively or very well
- Three-quarters of children from newcomer families speak English exclusively or very well
- Almost half of newcomer children speak both English and another language fluently or close to fluently
- Approximately a quarter of newcomer children are from linguistically isolated households
- Children from newcomer families going to pre-school with lower prevalence than children from native born families
Policy Recommendations:
- More resources need to be devoted to getting good early education to children from newcomer families
- A re-examination must take place of education policy toward language instruction, especially views of bi-literacy and bilingualism
- Education programs can and should improve outreach to newcomer parents
To order a hard copy of the report, contact:
Child Trends
Bonnie Wahiba
4301 Connecticut Avenue, NW
Suite 350
Washington, DC 20008
E-Mail: bwahiba@childtrends.org
Phone: (202) 572-6136
Fax: (202) 362-8420 (third floor, Suite 350)
How Far Behind in Math and Reading are English Language Learners?
by Pew Hispanic Center / Rick Fry
Fry, R. (2007). How Far Behind in Math and Reading are English Language Learners? Pew Hispanic Center: Washington, D.C.
Topics Covered:
Data (Demographics, Facts, and Figures);
Tags:
Content Areas: Math;
Language of Instruction;
Language Proficiency;
Latino ELL Students;
Rights, Students;
Transfer of Literacy Skills;
Vocabulary;
Writing;
Target Population: Elementary, Middle, High School
Research Questions the Report Poses: How Far Behind in Math and Reading are English Language Learners?
Summary: Through the use of NAEP data, this study seeks to examine the achievement gaps between ELL students and White, Black, and Hispanic non-ELL students. This study looks specifically at math and reading scores at the 4th and 8th grade levels both nationally and on a statewide basis in the states with the top 10 ELL populations.
Findings:
- The ELL achievement gap widens at higher grades.
- Nationally, ELL students tend to trail further behind their peers in reading than in math.
Policy Recommendations:
None given
To order a hard copy of the report, contact:
n/a
Linguistic Life Expectancies: Immigrant Language Retention in Southern California
by Ruben G. Rumbaut, Douglas S. Massey, and Frank D. Bean
Rumbaut, R.G., Massey D.S., and Bean, F.D. (2006). Linguistic Life Expectancies: Immigrant Language Retention in Southern California. Population and Development Review, 32(3), 447-460.
Topics Covered:
Data (Demographics, Facts, and Figures);
Tags:
Bilingualism / Biliteracy;
Fluency;
Language of Instruction;
Language Proficiency;
Latino ELL Students;
Target Population: Pre-school, Elementary, Middle, High School, Post-Secondary
Research Questions the Report Poses: How long can immigrant populations be expected, on average, to remain fluent in their languages of origin?
Summary: In what serves as a response to Samuel P. Huntington's Who Are We? The Challenges of America's National Identity, the authors research how many generations it takes for English to become the language spoken at home in Spanish-speaking households in southern California. Southern California was chosen as the site for this study because 1 out of 5 immigrants in the country resided in one of the six counties of southern California. The authors apply mortality rate formulas to their data in order to procure life expectancy curves for fluency.
Findings:
- The probability is 97% that a great grandchild of Mexican immigrants will not speak Spanish
- Mexican Spanish can be expected to have a life expectancy of 3.1 generations
- Guatemalan and Salvadoran Spanish can be expected to have a life expectancy of 2.8 generations
- Spanish spoken by other Latin Americans can be expected to have a life expectancy of 2.6 generations
Policy Recommendations:
No policy recommendations offered
To order a hard copy of the report, contact:
n/a
Measures of Change: The Demography and Literacy of Adolescent English Learners
by Jeanne Batalova, Michael Fix, and Julie Murray / Migration Policy Institute
Batalova, J., Fix, M., and Murray, J. (2007). Measures of Change: The Demography and Literacy of Adolescent English Learners. Migration Policy Institute, Carnegie Corporation of New York: New York, NY.
Topics Covered:
Data (Demographics, Facts, and Figures);
Literacy and Reading / Writing Instruction;
Adolescent (7-12);
Tags:
Language of Instruction;
Language Proficiency;
Latino ELL Students;
Transfer of Literacy Skills;
Vocabulary;
Writing;
Target Population: Elementary, Middle, High School
Research Questions the Report Poses: "Who are immigrant students and students who do not speak English well? Where are they from? What is their family background (social, economic, linguistic, etc.)? How well do they do in school? Do their literacy levels prepare them to take part in higher education and a skilled workforce?"
Summary: This report from the Migration Policy Institute examines the increasing population of ELLs. It does this by examining the ELL population and developing a profile of ELL students, examining literacy achievement on both national and state math and reading assessments, and examining state identification, testing, and accommodation policies in the following states: California, Illinois, Colorado, and North Carolina.
Findings:
- ELL populations are growing faster than general student populations
- The growth of ELL populations in different states varies widely
- Students in California are more likely to be "linguistically isolated" than students across the country or in the other three states studied
- 57% of ELLs across the country were born in the United States
- 70% of ELLs in grades 6-12 speak Spanish
- NAEP data examined for 8th grade ELLs shows that only 4% and 6% of ELLs scored proficient in reading and math, respectively
- ELLs performed radically different on state math and reading assessments from state to state
- There is a wide achievement gap between ELL and non-ELL students on the 8th grade NAEP as well as state standardized tests
- Former ELL students and non-ELL students scored roughly the same on NAEP and state assessments
Policy Recommendations:
- "Reexamine whether Census data accurately capture the [ELL] population"
- "Examine how varying state exclusion rates for ELL students affect NAEP results"
- "Explore the literacy trajectories of former [ELL] students"
- "Document how states vary in their testing and monitoring practices for ELL students who parents opt out of language instruction services"
- "Leverage the research opportunities that multi-state English proficiency tests offer for analyzing ELL outcomes"
To order a hard copy of the report, contact:
http://www.migrationpolicy.org/pubs/index.php
Out-of-School Immigrant Youth
by Public Policy Institute of California / Laura E. Hill and Joseph M. Hayes
Hill, Laura., and Hayes, Joseph. (2007). Out-of-School Immigrant Youth. San Francisco, California: Public Policy Institute of California.
Topics Covered:
Access, Equity, and Adequacy;
Data (Demographics, Facts, and Figures);
Tags:
Instructional Programs;
Latino ELL Students;
Target Population: High school
Research Questions the Report Poses: How well served are out-of-school immigrant youths in the state of California in general? How well served are out-of-school immigrant youths who receive services and resources from California's Migrant Education Program (MEP)?
Summary: This report considers the approximately 265,000 out-of-school immigrant youths (OSYs) in the state of California. This demographic is defined as individuals between the ages of 13 and 22 not currently enrolled in a school and without a high school diploma or GED. These individuals face many hardships, including high rates of poverty, lack of access to health care, and low incomes. Even though they do not have access to educational resources, OSYs remain a group of individuals who are very eager to both learn English and obtain their GEDs.
Findings:
- Though the California Migrant Education Program's attempts to offer educational resources to OSYs, its limited funds and eligibility requirements only allow it to service about 80,000 OSYs.
- California OSYs are some of the most disadvantaged individuals in the state because their legal statuses often make access to public services difficult.
- California OSYs are very eager to continue their education, but they are often unable to do so because of a need to work.
- Approximately 80% of OSYs said their families depended on their incomes to survive.
Policy Recommendations:
- Increase funding to the California MEP
- Change eligibility requirements for receiving MEP funds so that more OSYs are able to receive them
- Offer educational opportunities that allow OSYs to both work and learn
To order a hard copy of the report, contact:
Public Policy Institute of California
500 Washington Street
Suite 800
San Francisco, California 94111
E-Mail:merina@ppic.org
Telephone: (415) 291-4400
Fax: (415) 291-4401
Pre-K and Latinos: The Foundation for America's Future
Garcia, E.E., Gonzales, D.M. (2006). Pre-K and Latinos: The Foundation for America's Future. Pre-K Now Research Series: Washington, DC.
Topics Covered:
Access, Equity, and Adequacy;
Data (Demographics, Facts, and Figures);
Literacy and Reading / Writing Instruction;
Literacy and Reading / Writing Instruction;
Early (Pre-K);
Parent Outreach;
Tags:
Bilingual Instruction;
Bilingualism / Biliteracy;
Latino ELL Students;
Parent Involvement and Outreach / PTA;
Reading;
Summary:
Latino families care about education, but many do not participate in preschool programs. Although Latinos are at great risk for school failure, research shows that they benefit more from Pre-K programs than children of other ethnic groups. This report from Pre-K Now discusses how to make preschool effective and accessible so that all Latino children get a strong foundation for learning.
- Download full report (128KB PDF)*
- Download Executive Summary in Spanish (7KB PDF)*
School and Parent Interaction by Household Language and Poverty Status: 2002-03
by National Center for Education Statistics; Enyeart, Christine; Diehl, Juliet Hampden-Thompson, Gillian; Scotchmer, Marion
Enyeart, Christine; Diehl, Juliet Hampden-Thompson, Gillian; Scotchmer, Marion. (2006). "School and Parent Interaction by Household Language and Poverty Status: 2002-03." U.S. Department of Education: National Center for Education Statistics.
Topics Covered:
Data (Demographics, Facts, and Figures);
Parent Outreach;
Tags:
Parent Involvement and Outreach / PTA;
Target Population: Preschool, Elementary, Middle, High School
Research Questions the Report Poses: What are the school-to-home communication practices and opportunities for parent involvement at school as reported by parents of U.S. school-age children from primarily English-speaking and primarily Spanish-speaking households? How do these practices and opportunities relate to household poverty?
Summary: There are differences in the communication practices and opportunities for parent involvement between English-speaking and Spanish-speaking households. A greater percentage of parents in English-speaking households than in Spanish-speaking households had parents who reported receiving personal notes or emails about the student; receiving newsletters, memos or notices addressed to all parents; opportunities to attend general meetings; opportunities to attend school events; and chances to volunteer. In English-speaking households, the amount of communication parents reported receiving decreased as income decreased.
Findings:
- 92% of all parents reported receiving newsletters, memos, or notices from the school or teacher addressed to all parents.
- 92% of parents from English-speaking households and 82% of parents from Spanish-speaking households reported receiving communication addressed to all parents.
- 50% of parents from English-speaking households reported receiving personal notes or e-mails about the student. 40% of parents from Spanish-speaking households reported receiving personal communication about the student.
- Parents in poor English-speaking households were more likely than students in poor Spanish-speaking households to report receiving personal notes or emails (49% to 40%)
- There are differences in communication practices for English-speaking households across poverty levels.
- Reports of opportunities for parent involvement differed by household language except in the case of parent-teacher conferences.
- Parents from poor households were less likely to report that the school had opportunities for parent involvement than students from non-poor households.
Policy Recommendations:
The report did not provide policy recommendations.
To order a hard copy of the report, contact:
Call 1-877-4ED-PUBS or visit www.edpubs.org
The Changing Landscape of American Public Education: New Students, New Schools
by Pew Hispanic Research Center; Fry, Richard
http://pewhispanic.org/files/reports/72.pdf
Topics Covered:
Data (Demographics, Facts, and Figures);
Tags:
Latino ELL Students;
Target Population: Preschool, Elementary, Middle, High School
Research Questions the Report Poses: How have the schools changed in the past ten years in terms of enrollment and demographics?
Summary: The report examines two trends in American public education: increases in enrollment and increases in new schools. The report compares enrollment growth by ethnic and racial groups to the composition of newly opened schools and existing schools.
Findings:
- Between 1993-4 and 2002-03, the number of children enrolled in U.S. public schools increased by 4.7 million.
- Hispanics accounted for 3 million of those additional students (64 percent of the increase).
- Between 1993-4 and 2002-3, 15,368 new schools opened.
- In that time, white enrollment in US public schools declined by 2.6 million students.
- Also in that time, 2.5 million white students were educated in new schools.
- As Hispanic enrollment increased by 1.6 million and white enrollment decreased by 1.2 million
Policy Recommendations:
The report did not offer policy recommendations.
To order a hard copy of the report, contact:
Call 202.419.3600
The Growth of the Linguistic Minority Population in the U.S. and California 1980-2005
by University of California Linguistic Minority Research Institute
University of California Linguistic Minority Research Institute. (2006). The Growth of the Linguistic Minority Population in the U.S. and California 1980-2005. University of California Linguistic Minority Research Institute: Santa Barbara, CA.
Topics Covered:
Data (Demographics, Facts, and Figures);
Tags:
American Indian ELL Students;
Asian ELL Students;
Latino ELL Students;
Other ELL Students (Middle Eastern, African, European, etc.);
Target Population: Preschool, Elementary, Middle, High School
Research Questions the Report Poses: No Research Question, Data Presentation Only
Summary: This short document has a chart and a table detailing population trends in both the United States and California from 1980 to 2005. According to the data here, California has a much higher percentage of linguistic minority (ELL) students than the nation overall does, and in the time period 1980-2005, California's linguistic minority population increased greatly compared to that of the United States.
Findings:
According to the data here, California has a much higher percentage of linguistic minority (ELL) students than the nation overall does, and in the time period 1980-2005, California's linguistic minority population increased greatly compared to that of the United States.
Policy Recommendations:
None
To order a hard copy of the report, contact:
n/a
The Return to English in a Non-English Speaking Country: Russian Immigrants and Native Israelis in Israel
by Kevin Lang and Erez Siniver/National Bureau of Economic Research
Lang, Kevin and Siniver, Erez, The Return to English in a Non-English Speaking Country: Russian Immigrants and Native Israelis in Israel (August 2006). NBER Working Paper No. W12464.
Topics Covered:
About ELLs;
Access, Equity, and Adequacy;
Data (Demographics, Facts, and Figures);
Higher Education and Careers;
Tags:
Bilingualism / Biliteracy;
Fluency;
Language Proficiency;
Other ELL Students (Middle Eastern, African, European, etc.);
Target Population: High School, Post-Secondary
Research Questions the Report Poses: What role does English play for Russian immigrants to Israel and Israel natives? How does this role differ?
Summary: The purpose of the study presented is to examine the return to English knowledge by reviewing samples of Russian immigrants and Israeli natives. The importance of such data as cited by the article is 1) due to the high level of press on/about globalization and the importance of foreign language knowledge, 2) that examining the Hebrew acquisition as well as the English acquisition among Russian immigrants to Israel they are addressing the criticism of literature on the role of host-country language acquisition on assimilation, and 3) to contribute to other literature showing language-skill complementarities.
Findings:
Below are the findings as listed in the report (p. 2):
- In cross-section estimates there is a significant return to English knowledge for both immigrants and natives with high levels of education.
- Language acquisition is an important element in immigrant/native earnings convergence, but most of this convergence is explained by factors other language acquisition.
- The results are confirmed using panel data on wages and knowledge of Hebrew and English over time.
- The benefits of English knowledge vary across occupations in ways that are largely consistent with past evidence on language-skill complementarities.
- Natives and immigrants with high levels of education benefit similarly from knowing English. While immigrants with low levels of education do not benefit from knowledge of English, there is some evidence that native Israelis do.
- Conditional on occupation the rate at which immigrants learn English and Hebrew are largely orthogonal. Therefore earlier work on the importance of knowledge of the host country language (Hebrew) does not appear to be significantly biased by the absence of measures of English knowledge.
Policy Recommendations:
N/A
To order a hard copy of the report, contact:
N/A
Who's Left Behind? Immigrant Children in High and Low LEP Schools
by The Urban Institute / Clemencia Cosentino de Cohen, Nicole Deterding, Beatriz Chu Clewell
Cosentino de Cohen, C., Deterding, N., Chu Clewell, B. (2005). Who's Left Behind?: Immigrant Children in High and Low LEP Schools. Program for Evaluation and Equity Research, Urban Institute: Washington, D.C.
Topics Covered:
Access, Equity, and Adequacy;
Data (Demographics, Facts, and Figures);
NCLB and AYP;
Tags:
Instructional Programs;
Placement;
Target Population: Elementary, Middle, High School
Research Questions the Report Poses: Are immigrant children left behind academically as a result of whether they are in a high or low LEP school?
Summary:
Are elementary schools prepared to educate English language learners in the manner required by the No Child Left Behind Act? A study by The Urban Institute found that limited English proficient (LEP) students are now highly concentrated: "nearly 70 percent of the nation's LEP students are enrolled in 10 percent of its schools." But students in low-concentration areas may be at a disadvantage.
Findings:
- The majority of LEP students are concentrated in a small number of schools: Nearly 70 percent of LEP students nationally enroll in only 10 percent of elementary schools. In these schools, LEP students account for almost one half of the student body (on average), a striking contrast to the 5 percent of LEP students enrolled in the average Low-LEP school.
- High-LEP schools tend to have higher a higher prevalence of poverty, Title I services, native language instruction, LEP-target instructional techniques, and services like Pre-K and summer enrichment, parent outreach, and hard-to-staff school status.
- Principals in High-ELL schools are more likely to be racially diverse, female, earn more money, and hold a PhD than their low-ELL school counterparts.
- Teachers in high-ELL schools, on average, earn more, are more racially diverse, are newer, and, overall, have less academic preparation than their counterparts in other schools
- Educators in high-ELL schools are more likely to hold ESL/bilingual certification as well as their main certification. However, ESL/bilingual educators in both High and Low ELL schools are equally likely to have that specific field qualification
- Educators in high-ELL schools are more likely to have provisional, emergency, or temporary certification than those in other schools
Policy Recommendations:
- Though both high- and low-ELL schools need to be properly staffed and funded, specific emphasis must be made on low-ELL schools because these have been shown to be less prepared to handle the needs of ELL students.
- Policies need to be implemented that will offer educators incentive to get their certifications in teaching ELL students.
- Go to Executive Summary
- Download full report (144KB PDF)*
To order a hard copy of the report, contact:
Urban Institute
2100 M Street, N.W.
Washington, DC 20037
(P): 202-833-7200
Why Segregation Matters: Poverty and Educational Inequality
by Gary Olfield and Chungmei Lee
Orfield, G. and Lee, C. (2005, January). Why segregation matters: Poverty and educational inequality. Cambridge, MA: Civil Rights Project Harvard University.
Topics Covered:
Access, Equity, and Adequacy;
Data (Demographics, Facts, and Figures);
Tags:
Rights, Students;
Target Population: Preschool, Elementary, Middle, High School, Post-Secondary
Research Questions the Report Poses: What connections exist between segregation by race, segregation by poverty, and unequal opportunity?
Summary: The report is largely about segregation and how schools are increasingly segregated by socio-economic status. With an emphasis on multiracial discrimination, poverty, and segregation, the authors present a variety of ELL demographic data by region related to poverty. Another purpose of the paper is to show how rapidly changing demographic changes challenge more typical notions of segregation.
Findings:
n/a
Policy Recommendations:
- There should be a concerted effort to avoid the creation of more concentrated poverty schools. Wherever possible there should be positive plans to use assignment and choice policies to foster more diverse schools.
- Housing and land use policies should be designed on a regional basis to foster access for all students to strong schools and educational diversity.
- Community groups should seriously analyze the social consequences of proposals to terminate desegregation plans that lower isolation by race and class.
- Basic research should be supported on the impacts of Latino segregation and of multiracial schools and school reforms should be designed and evaluated in light of deepened understanding of rapidly changing realities.
- Charter schools should not be set up in ways that make them intensely segregated by poverty and race. There should be an explicit goal of fostering diversity.
- Court orders and remedial plans designed to deal with findings of educational inadequacy that are rapidly spreading around the country should take these findings into account and provide both policy support and aid to foster access of students in impoverished schools to more privileged schools.
- Schools should look seriously at classroom segregation by class and race and design plans to lower it.
To order a hard copy of the report, contact:
n/a
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