ELL Research: New York

Tags: Differentiated Instruction; Latino ELL Students; Other ELL Students (Middle Eastern, African, European, etc.); Placement;

Target Population: Middle, High School

Research Questions the Report Poses:

• What can we learn from the the gap in ELL enrollment between charter schools and traditional public schools? What are the trends in this gap in New York City?
• Are students who attend charter schools are qualitatively different from those enrolled in district public schools?
• How does the racial/ethnic makeup of charter schools compares to traditional public schools?

Findings:

• In New York City, as in many other areas serving high numbers of ELLs (with a few exceptions), research focused on ELL student access to charter schools has been limited.
• At the school level, New York City charter schools appear to have a disproportionately low enrollment of ELL/LEP students.
• While findings from previous studies of New York City's charter schools suggest that location is a factor for limited ELL enrollment, many of New York's charter schools are located in neighborhoods with traditionally signficiant Hispanic and ELL populations such as the South Bronx and Harlem.
• Those charter schools that buck this trend actively strive to meet the needs of ELLs through ongoing professional development for teachers across the disciplines and active family engagement efforts led by the principal.

The authors of the report suggest the following possible reasons for limited ELL enrollment in charter schools:

• Parents of ELLs may not have adequate knowledge about charter schools; their reliance on (and deferral to) teachers and administrators to make academic decisions about their children's future contributes to this information gap.
• Charter schools face pressure to maintain high academic standards and may be reluctant to serve students who require additional resources. In fact, some funding mechanisms may create a disincentive to enroll higher number of ELL applicants at particular charter schools.

Policy Recommendations:

• More disaggretation of charter school data is needed that provides detailed information about ELL student enrollment, proficiency level, and performance.
• Researchers and policymakers need to reexamine, and in some cases revise, charter school funding mechanisms to ensure that they are not preventing charter school leaders from actively recruiting "at-risk" populations of students.
• Future research about ELLs in charter schools should include investigation of families' knowledge about charter schools and charter school lotteries, as well as of charter school practices regarding student recruitment and staff training and hiring.

• Read the Full Report

Buckley, J.& Sattin-Bajaj, C. (2010, April, 27). Are ELL Students Underrepresented in Charter Schools? Demographic Trends in New York City, 2006-2008. New York University. Retrieved July 27, 2010 from http://www.ncspe.org/publications_files/OP188.pdf

Tags: Intervention;

Target Population: All

Research Questions the Report Poses: What are the features of state response to intervention initiatives as evidenced by publicly available information from state education agencies?

Findings:

• An RTI framework typically contains 8 core features outlined by the National Re-search Center on Learning Disabilities: high quality classroom instruction, research–based instruction, assessment of classroom performance, universal screening, continuous progress monitoring, research–based interventions, progress monitoring during interventions, and fidelity measures.
• 7 of the 9 jurisdictions in the region have developed state documents on RTI that address core features of RTI identified in the literature. These 7 jurisdictions—CT, ME, MA, NH, NY, RI, and VT—use or promote RTI as an approach to supporting struggling students in general education or to determine eligibility for special education at the local level.
• While there was no evidence of RTI policies or procedures in Puerto Rico or the Virgin Islands, that is not evidence that these two jurisdictions do not allow RTI.
• Of the 7 states that support RTI initiatives, all require or recommend a three–tiered model of intervention; 5 require or recommend use of a readiness self–assessment or plan (ME, NH, NY, RI, and VT), and 4 have appropriated funds for RTI pilot or demonstration sites (NH, NY, RI, and VT).

• Read the Full Report

Bocala, C., Mello, D., Reedy, K., and Lacireno-Paquet, N. (2009). Features of state response to intervention initiatives in Northeast and Islands Region states (Issues & Answers Report, REL 2009–No. 083). Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences, National Center for Education Evaluation and Regional Assistance, Regional Educational Laboratory Northeast and Islands. Retrieved from http://ies.ed.gov/ncee/edlabs.

Tags: Placement; Struggling Readers;

Target Population: All

Research Questions the Report Poses:

• According to district and school personnel in three midsize New York State districts, what processes are used to identify students who are English language learners and also have learning disabilities?
• What challenges do those district administrators and school personnel describe about the process of identifying learning disabilities among students who are ELLs?

Findings:
Eight challenges in identifying learning disabilities among ELL students:

• Difficulties with policy guidelines.
• Different stakeholder views about timing for referral of students who are English language learners.
• Insufficient knowledge among personnel involved in identification.
• Difficulties providing consistent, adequate services to students who are English language learners.
• Lack of collaborative structures in prereferral.
• Lack of access to assessments that differentiate between second language development and learning disabilities.
• Lack of consistent monitoring for struggling students who are English language learners.
• Difficulty obtaining students' previous school records.

Policy Recommendations:
Analysis of the differences in the prereferral and referral processes and of the challenges identified in the three districts suggests five interrelated elements that appear to be important for avoiding misidentification of learning disabilities among students who are English language learners:

• Adequate professional knowledge. Having access to professional expertise about cultural differences, language development, learning disabilities, and their intersection among classroom teachers, specialists, and administrators.
• Effective instructional practices. Providing effective instruction to students who are English language learners before and during prereferral.
• Effective and valid assessment and interventions. Providing valid assessments and effective intervention strategies.
• Interdepartmental collaborative structures. Establishing structures for collaboration between the English language learner and special education departments, as well as opportunities for teachers to collaborate and problem solve in schools.
• Clear policy guidelines. Providing streamlined and clear policy guidelines on procedures to follow and criteria to use in identifying learning disabilities among students who are English language learners.

• Read the Full Report

Sanchez, M.T. (2010, February). Processes and Challenges in Identifying Learning Disabilities Among English Language Learner Students in three New York State Districts. U.S. Department of Education Institute of Education Sciences. Retrieved January 12, 2011 from: http://ies.ed.gov/ncee/edlabs/projects/project.asp?projectID=116

Tags: Intervention; Rights, Students;

Target Population: High school

Research Questions the Report Poses: To what extent, if any, have ELLs actually been included in New York City's small high schools reform initiative?

Findings:

• As a result of the new schools program, ELL students are largely sequestered to a few schools with high percentages of ELLs while many other schools offer very little, if any, instruction or resources for ELLs.
• Because new schools are not being built in areas where ELLs are highly concentrated, ELLs are being kept from new schools.
• Most schools classified as small by this report (about 500 students) fail to provide adequate resources for ELL instruction.
• Because small schools are inadequately prepared to instruct ELLs, these students are forced to go to large, failing schools, which are the type of schools that the new schools plan was supposed to cut down on.

Policy Recommendations:

• Increase ELLs' access to small schools by building more small schools in areas where ELLs most commonly reside.
• Improve the high school admissions process so that ELLs are not excluded or kept out of small schools because of their ELL status.

• Link to Full Report

To order a hard copy of the report, contact:
Advocates for Children of New York
151 West 30th Street — 5th Floor
New York, NY 10001
E-Mail: info@advocatesforchildren.org
Phone: (212)-947-9779
Fax: (212)-947-9790

The New York Immigration Coalition and Advocates for Children of New York. (2006, November). So Many Schools, So Few Options: How Mayor Bloomberg's Small High School Reforms Deny Full Access to English Language Learners. New York, NY: The New York Immigration Coalition and Advocates for Children of New York.

Tags: Comprehension; Language of Instruction; Language Proficiency;

Target Population: High School

Research Questions the Report Poses:

• How are high school exit exams affecting districts, teachers, and students?
• How fair is it for states to require ELLs to pass an exit exam in order to graduate?
• What are the most effective strategies to help ELLs succeed on these exams?
• How are states accommodating ELLs on the exit exams?

Findings:

• Innovative programs and policies are beginning to spring up in states with exit exams.
• Over the past year, states have developed more supports for students and committed more funds to help students pass exit exams.
• Initial pass rates and achievement gaps have proved to be stubborn to move, especially in states where exit exams have been in place for several years.
• States are improving their ability to track and report on student–level data, which should help in the future to clear up some nagging questions about the impacts of exit exams on dropouts and achievement.
• Resolving fundamental questions about the fairness of exit exams and appropriateness of supports for English language learners is crucial if this reform is to succeed in helping all students.
• Rather than developing waivers or exemptions from exit exam requirements specifically for English language learners, states are choosing to require ELLs to pass exit exams, albeit with test accommodations.
• Evidence from New York and California indicates that former ELLs–students who become proficient in English and exit ELL status–are more likely to pass exit exams and are more likely to graduate than students as a whole.

Policy Recommendations:

• New strategies, which are mostly in the research stage, could increase the validity of exit exam scores for ELLs.
• New support policies and funding are necessary to improve achievement for these students and can lead to positive outcomes for ELLs.

• Read the Full Report

To order a hard copy of the report, contact:
n/a

Sullivan, P., Yeager, M., Chudowsky, N., Kober, N., O'Brien, E., Gayler, K. (2005). State high school exit exams: States try harder, but gaps persist. Center on Education Policy: Washington, DC. Retrieved from: http://alaskateacher.org/downloads/exit_exam_8_12_05.pdf

Tags: Bilingual Instruction; Bilingualism / Biliteracy; Differentiated Instruction; Fluency; Instructional Programs; Intervention; Language of Instruction; Language Proficiency; Placement; Reading; Struggling Readers; Transfer of Literacy Skills; Vocabulary;

Target Population: Middle, High School

Research Questions the Report Poses: How accommodated are Students with Interrupted Formal Education (SIFEs) in NYC public schools? Why SIFEs are struggling academically and what are can be done to improve it?

Findings:

• SIFEs often have poor literary skills in any language, and are likely behind their age level in knowledge-content.
• SIFEs have complex social and psychological needs due to multiple factors including migration, unfamiliarity with surroundings, etc.
• SIFEs need more English language support, and often more individualized instruction to make progress.
• SIFEs lack foundational skills for academic work in English and in most cases their native language.
• Many SIFEs are not steered towards programs that can help them, and the schools they are placed in don't have the resources to teach them properly.
• Many SIFEs as often classified as having disabilities when cases show that this is typically not the case.

• Read the Full Report

Students with Interrupted Education: A Challenge for New York City Public Schools. (2010, May). Advocates for Children of New York. Retrieved July 28, 2010 from http://advocatesforchildren.org/SIFE%20Paper%20final.pdf