Asian ELL Students

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.

• Link to Full Report

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

• Link to Full Report

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)

Hidden in Plain View: An Overview of the Needs of Asian American Students in the Public School System

by The Coalition for Asian American Children and Families (CACF)

The Coalition for Asian American Children and Families (2004, May). Coalition for Asian Hidden in plain view: An overview of the needs of Asian American students in the public school system. New York, NY.

Topics Covered: About ELLs; Multicultural Education / Diversity / Culturally-Responsive Inst;

Tags: Asian ELL Students; Parent Involvement and Outreach / PTA;

Target Population: Preschool, Elementary, Middle, High School, Post-Secondary

Research Questions the Report Poses: What difficulties face Asian American students and how might these difficulties perpetuate myths about Asian students?

Summary: The article discusses a number of issues related to Asian-American communities, specifically in New York City. The diversity of the Asian American community leads to stereotyping and mythmaking that adversely affect students and schools. The authors conducted interviews with students, parents, and school staff about the experiences of Asian Americans in schools and the community. The authors make some broad recommendations about: academics, informal education, parent involvement, and community participation.

Findings:
The sheer diversity in ethnicities, languages, cultures, and experiences represented among Asian Americans creates many myths and misunderstandings. The stereotype of the model Asian minority denies the reality that there are struggling and undeserved students. Emotional and academic needs of Asian American students are easily overlooked.

Policy Recommendations:

DEVELOP CULTURAL COMPETENCY

1. School and regional staff, from superintendents to teachers to security officers, need to be prepared to work with the Asian American community. Training on the diversity in the Asian American community, cultural influences, and barriers to accessing services is imperative.
IMPROVE DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS

2. Schools, regional divisions and central offices must ensure proper collection of demographic data of all students and make disaggregated data on communities available. Only with a proper understanding of the needs of Asian American students can proper services and programs be planned.
ELIMINATE LANGUAGE BARRIERS

3. Schools must ensure language needs of students and parents are properly assessed. It is necessary that special attention is paid to dialects and written languages. To assist in efficient access to translation and interpretation services, a centralized resource bank of such services must be developed.
4. The Department of Education must create additional dual language programs in other Asian languages. Not only do dual language programs foster fluency in English, but in another language as well.
KEEP PARENTS INFORMED

5. Parents must be informed of the new curriculum, introduced to different strategies of teaching, and directed to where they can find resources to help support their children in their learning.

1. Schools need to take a proactive approach to promoting positive identity formation that includes a healthy ethnic identity
2. Schools need to offer opportunities for students to interact and learn from each other. This might include mentoring programs, planning of heritage months and other efforts to foster inclusiveness.
3. All schools, but especially those with large Asian American populations, need to be inclusive of Asian Americans in their curriculum such as placing Asian American authors on reading lists, taking excerpts from Asian American works to be used in lessons, and having books on Asian Americans and books written by Asian Americans on the shelves in school libraries.
PREVENT ANTI-ASIAN HARASSMENT AND VIOLENCE

4. Schools should start anti-bullying programs in the elementary school grades and offer peer mediation programs for higher grades.

1. All schools must assess how welcoming and accessible schools are to parents, especially immigrant and limited English proficient parents.
2. All schools should have orientation for new parents and teach them about ways to be involved.
IMPROVE THE USE OF PARENT COORDINATORS

3. The Department of education needs to establish standards for the allocation of an appropriate number of parent coordinators per school that is based on workload (the ratio between the number of families to every one parent coordinator) as well as language and cultural needs.

1. Asian American community based organizations that work with schools with a large Asian American population should be involved in school planning through School Leadership Teams.
2. Improve collaborative partnerships between schools and community based organizations will result from sharing goals on student performance and maintaining regular communication between schools and organizations.
3. Private foundations and government agencies need to increase grant opportunities for school and community based organization partnerships.
4. Schools need to access support and resources from those community based organizations that are knowledgeable of the ethnic communities in their schools.

• Link to Resource Page (Full Report Available)

To order a hard copy of the report, contact:

The Coalition of Asian American Children & Families
50 Broad St.
Suite 1701
New York, NY 10004
Phone: 212.809.4675
Fax: 212.785.4601

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Improving Academic Preparation for College: What We Know and How State and Federal Policy Can Help

by Robin Chait & Andrea Venezia. Center for American Progress.

Chait, Robin and Andrea Venezia. (2009). Improving Academic Preparation for College: What We Know and How State and Federal Policy Can Help. Washington, D.C.: Center for American Progress.

Topics Covered: Access, Equity, and Adequacy; Higher Education and Careers; Literacy and Reading / Writing Instruction; Adolescent (7-12); Multicultural Education / Diversity / Culturally-Responsive Inst;

Tags: American Indian ELL Students; Asian ELL Students; Curriculum; Instructional Programs; Latino ELL Students; Other ELL Students (Middle Eastern, African, European, etc.);

Target Population: This article targets the general population, especially those Latino and minority groups in high school or first year in college.

Research Questions the Report Poses: This article raises the question of students' academic preparation to transition from high school to postsecondary education.

Summary: This article discusses students' academic performance during high school to prepare them for college. This article supports current survey results that show that students are interested in pursuing a college degree; however, the transition can be difficult due to their poor academic preparation. In the article, the authors discuss what it has been done now to improve academic preparation and the role of the federal and state policymakers to make a different in students' lives as prospect college students.

Findings:

• Poor academic performance during high school due to poor academic preparation for college can predetermine the failure of students during college.
• Current research shows that to make a different in academic preparation, school administrations and teachers have to create a rigorous academic program that needs to be continuous and based on rich coursework.
• Organizations like Achieve, ACT, and the Education Policy Improvement Center are providing feedbacks for students to better their transition from high school to college.

Policy Recommendations:

• Policymakers should begin to address the importance of academic preparation for students, especially in high school, entering college.
• The federal government should be responsible of distributing and communicating the general public the steps to take to gain greater academic preparation and skills in schools.
• Policymakers should propose and manage the strategies implemented to guarantee the success of the programs.

• Read the report

To order a hard copy of the report, contact:
Center for American Progress 1333 H Street, NW, 10th Floor, Washington, DC 20005

Practical Guidelines for the Education of English Language Learners: Research-based Recommendations for the Instruction and Academic Interventions

by David J. Francis and Mabel Rivera/Center on Instruction English Language Learners Strand, Nonie Lesaux and Michael Kieffer/Havard Graduate School of Education, Hector Rivera/Center on Instruction English Language Learners Strand

Francis, David J., Mabel Rivera, Nonie Lesaux, and Hector Rivera. (2006). Research-Based Recommendations for Instruction and Academic Interventions. Practical Guidelines for the Education of English Language Learners, Retrieved April 11,2008, from http://www.centeroninstruction.org/files/ELL1-Interventions.pdf

Topics Covered: About ELLs; Assessment and Accommodations; Learning Disabilities and Special Education; Literacy and Reading / Writing Instruction;

Tags: American Indian ELL Students; Asian ELL Students; Comprehension; Content Areas: Math; Fluency; Instructional Programs; Intervention; Language of Instruction; Language Proficiency; Latino ELL Students; Other ELL Students (Middle Eastern, African, European, etc.); Phonics; Phonological Awareness; Reading; Struggling Readers; Vocabulary; Writing;

Target Population: Elementary School, Middle School, High School

Research Questions the Report Poses: What students are classified as being English Language Learners? How are they best identified, and what recommendations should be made to more adequately instruct possible ELL students to prevent further learning difficulties?

Summary: After briefly highlighting the characteristics of and how to best identify ELL students the articles attempts to show the importance of effective instruction and intervention not only for academically struggling ELL students, but also for all ELL students including those individuals who are linguistically fluent in English. Before looking into the proposed recommendations the article also briefly looks into the importance of mastering academic language skills as key elements to academic success. The importance of academic language skills is revisited under the recommendations sections for both reading comprehension and mathematics.

Findings:

• Statistics for ELLs may be hard to obtain or may be inaccurate since many ELL students go without being properly identified
• ELL students can better from more individualized instruction
• Mastery of academic language is necessary for academic success, which can prove to be difficult even for English speaking proficient ELLs
• In order to provide effective support of reading comprehension to ELLs educators must have an understanding of the child's individual needs
• In addition to reading comprehension it is crucial for students to become proficient in mathematics

Policy Recommendations:
While the article did not have any specific policy recommendations the recommendations listed in the article could be taken as such and thus included in this section.

Recommendations for Reading Instruction and interventions:

• ELLs need early, explicit, and intensive instruction in phonological awareness and phonics in order to build decoding skills.
• K-12 classrooms across the nation must increase opportunities for ELLs to develop sophisticated vocabulary knowledge.
• Reading instruction in K-12 classrooms must equip ELLs with strategies and knowledge to comprehend and analyze challenging narrative and expository texts.
• Instruction and intervention to promote ELLs' reading fluency must focus on vocabulary and increased exposure to print.
• In all K-12 classrooms across the U.S., ELLs need significant opportunities to engage in structured, academic talk.
• Independent reading is only beneficial when it is structured and purposeful, and there is a good reader-text match.

• ELLs need early explicit and intensive instruction and intervention in basic mathematics concepts and skill.
• Academic language is as central to mathematics as it is to other academic areas. It is a significant source of difficulty for many ELLs who struggle with mathematics.
• ELLs need academic language support to understand and solve the word problems that are often used for mathematics assessment and instruction.

• Link to Full Report

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N/A

Promoting Academic Literacy Among Secondary English Language Learners: A Synthesis of Research and Practice

by UC Davis School of Education

Maxwell-Jolly, J., Gandara, P. & Benavidez L. M. (2005). Promoting academic literacy among secondary English language learners: A synthesis of research and practice. Davis, CA: UC Davis School of Education.

Topics Covered: Best Teaching Practices / Professional Development;

Tags: American Indian ELL Students; Asian ELL Students; Latino ELL Students; Other ELL Students (Middle Eastern, African, European, etc.);

Target Population: middle and high school

Research Questions the Report Poses: What policy steps should occur in California to improve the education of secondary English Language Learners?

Summary: Provides an overview of issues related to teaching English language learners (ELL), and recommendations for California policy including: challenges secondary ELL students face; needs and limitations of teachers and schools in CA; and best practices cited by researchers and practitioners. The report largely summarizes three days of panel presentations and discussions by ELL experts convened in 2005.

Findings:
A number of themes emerged from the panel discussants including:

• the need for identifying ELL students better; inadequate existing programs for ELL secondary students;
• the need for more teachers and administrators who are knowledgeable about the needs of secondary ELL students; and
• the importance of advocacy and staying on-message to improve ELL education.

Policy Recommendations:
The report adopts five policy steps that should occur including:

• Convene a panel of experts;
• Promote pilot programs;
• Develop an effective ELL assessment system;
• Establish a committee in the CA legislature to recruit and retain highly skilled ELL teachers and administrators; and
• Organize a summit to bring attention and focus to the need for improved ELL secondary education.

• Link to Full Report

To order a hard copy of the report, contact:
NA

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

• Link to Full Report

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

Urgent but Overlooked: The Literacy Crisis Among Adolescent English Language Learners

by Alliance for Excellent Education

(February 2007). Urgent but overlooked: The literacy crisis among adolescent English Language Learners. Retrieved April 11, 2008, from Alliance For Excellent Education Web site: http://www.all4ed.org/files/UrgentOver.pdf

Topics Covered: About ELLs; Assessment and Accommodations; Bilingual Education; Literacy and Reading / Writing Instruction;

Tags: American Indian ELL Students; Asian ELL Students; Bilingual Instruction; Comprehension; Differentiated Instruction; Fluency; Instructional Programs; Intervention; Language of Instruction; Language Proficiency; Latino ELL Students; Other ELL Students (Middle Eastern, African, European, etc.); Reading; Transfer of Literacy Skills;

Target Population: Pre-K, Elementary School, Middle School, High School

Research Questions the Report Poses: What factors prevent ELL students from receiving effective literacy instruction?

Summary: ELL students represent the fastest growing segment of the student population and yet with respect to reading and literacy rates they are among the country's lowest performing students. This article looks at the crisis of low literacy rates among ELL students, what research is currently being done, the findings of that research, addresses key policy questions needing to be addressed by policymakers as well as a brief look into the types of support needed in order to provide ELL students with effective literacy instruction.

Findings:

• ELLs comprise 10.5 percent of the nation's pre-K-12 school enrollment, up from 5 percent in 1990
• ELLs continually score lower on the reading portion of the National Assessment of Educational Progress
• As the population of ELL students increases so does the demand from teachers for better methods of instruction
• The literacy needs of ELLs are both identical and distinct to their English-proficient peers
• Local, state, and federal policymakers need to address effect of the growing ELL student population's effect on demographic trends, educational challenges, school performance, etc.
• Improvements must be made on the types of support available to teachers working with ELL students, with special recognition that there are no one size fits all approaches to effective literacy instruction
• It should be the goal of the nation to educate all students

Policy Recommendations:
N/A

• Link to Full Report

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