Content Areas: Math

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

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How Far Behind in Math and Reading are English Language Learners?

by Pew Hispanic Center / Rick Fry

Fry, R. (2007, June). How far behind in math and reading are English language learners? Washington, DC: Pew Hispanic Center.

Topics Covered: Assessment and Accommodations;

Tags: Content Areas: Math; Reading;

Target Population: Elementary, Middle, High School

Research Questions the Report Poses: How do the scores in reading and mathematics of ELL students compare to the scores in reading and mathematics of white, black, and Hispanic students? What are some of the characteristics of limited English speaking students at different grade levels? Do state based standardized tests produce similar achievement gaps as NAEP when comparing ELL students and other student groups (white, black, Hispanic)?

Summary: The article explores variance in ELL scores in reading and mathematics versus non-ELL scores on a major national test called the NAEP. The author also looks at gaps between ELL students and all other ethnic groups as they matriculate to middle school. The author attributes these gaps to two factors: the declassification of many successful ELL students and increases in new ELL students into the population.

Findings:

• The results of 2005 testing shows that 46% of 4th grade ELL students scored at the lowest level in mathematics on a national test. The same test shows that 73% of those ELL 4th grade students scored at the lowest level in reading. In middle schools 71% of 8th grade students performed at the lowest level in both reading and mathematics.
• Many students are moved out of limited English speaking status as they acquire language skills, while new immigrant students are added to the ELL group. These two factors add to an increased gap between elementary school ELL scores in math and reading and middle school ELL scores in math and reading.
• When comparing ELL student scores to other group scores (white, black, Hispanic) state-based standardized tests produce comparable gaps to the NAEP.

Policy Recommendations:
n/a

• Link to Full Report

To order a hard copy of the report, contact:
1615 L Street, NW Suite 700 Washington, DC 20036-5610
p 202.419.3600
f 202.419.3608

Language Test

by National School Boards Association, Naomi Dillon

Dillon, N. (2005). Language Test. American School Board Journal, 192(8). National School Boards Association.

Topics Covered: Access, Equity, and Adequacy; NCLB and AYP;

Tags: Bilingual Instruction; Bilingualism / Biliteracy; Comprehension; Content Areas: Math; Content Areas: Science; Content Areas: Social Studies; Content Areas: The Arts; Curriculum; Instructional Programs; Intervention; Language of Instruction; Language Proficiency;

Target Population: Elementary, Middle, High School

Research Questions the Report Poses: The report uses the example of Coachella school district's legal battle to examine if state assessments fair to English language learners.

Summary: The report examines the challenges associated with preparing a population that is 70 percent ELL to meet the demands of state and federal laws. Under California law, all ELL students must take state tests in English after only one year of instruction — a requirement that perpetually leaves districts like Coachella "in need of improvement." The report uses the Coachella district's case as a lens to examine the challenges we face in preparing ELL students to perform highly as well as the advantages and disadvantages of different types of assessment and accounting formulae to determine performance.

Findings:
n/a

Policy Recommendations:

• The lawsuit asks the state to develop primary language tests for students who have recently arrived or enrolled in bilingual classrooms—an NCLB supported provision.
• The suit also calls for a new standardized test that is more linguistically friendly and appropriate.

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Meeting the Literacy Development Needs of Adolescent English Language Learners Through Content Area Learning: Part One: Focus on Motivation and Engagement

by Northeast and Islands Regional Educational Laboratory (LAB), The Education Alliance at Brown University, Julie Meltzer and Edmund Hamann

Meltzer, J. & Hamann, E. (2004). Meeting the literacy development needs of adolescent English language learners. Part one: Focus on motivation and engagement. Northeast and Islands Regional Educational Laboratory.

Topics Covered: Literacy and Reading / Writing Instruction; Literacy and Reading / Writing Instruction; Adolescent (7-12);

Tags: Content Areas: Math; Content Areas: Science; Content Areas: Social Studies; Motivation; Placement; Reading; Struggling Readers; Transfer of Literacy Skills; Vocabulary; Writing;

Target Population: Middle, High School

Research Questions the Report Poses: Review of the literature concerning student motivation and engagement on literacy development of adolescents and research on the schooling of adolescent ELLs.

Summary: This article reviews the major research findings as they relate to engagement and motivation of ELL adolescents. The highlighted research is meant to explore the confluence of two areas of study—literacy development and schooling practices for ELLs and native English speakers—and serve as a guide for professional development for secondary teachers. The literature review explores school and classroom contexts; instructional principles like relevance, choice, and student-centered classrooms; and instructional practices like scaffolding and activating prior knowledge as they relate to adolescent ELLs.

Findings:

• literacy development and effective instruction for ELL and non-ELL adolescents alike share many commonalities;
• isolated ELL students are further negatively impacted as a result of these findings; and
• content-area teachers may benefit from research and practices designed for ELL teachers

Policy Recommendations:
n/a

• Link to Full Report

To order a hard copy of the report, contact:
The Education Alliance at Brown
222 Richmond Street, Suite 300
Providence, RI 02903-4226
Phone: 800.521.9550
Fax: 401.421.7650
E-mail: info@alliance.brown.edu

Meeting the Literacy Development Needs of Adolescent English Language Learners Through Content Area Learning: Part Two: Focus on Classroom Teaching and Learning Strategies

by Northeast and Islands Regional Educational Laboratory (LAB), The Education Alliance at Brown University, Julie Meltzer and Edmund Hamann

Meltzer, J. & Hamann, E. (2004). Meeting the literacy development needs of adolescent English language learners. Part two: Focus on classroom teaching and learning strategies. Northeast and Islands Regional Educational Laboratory .

Topics Covered: Literacy and Reading / Writing Instruction; Literacy and Reading / Writing Instruction; Adolescent (7-12);

Tags: Content Areas: Math; Content Areas: Science; Content Areas: Social Studies; Motivation; Placement; Reading; Struggling Readers; Transfer of Literacy Skills; Vocabulary; Writing;

Target Population: Middle, High School

Research Questions the Report Poses: What instructional practices dovetail in both the ELL adolescent literacy literature and non-ELL adolescent literacy literature?

Summary: As with part one of this publication, part two amounts to a literature review. Part two looks for congruous instructional practices that are good for secondary ELL and native English speakers alike. The article shifts through a series of discussions about a variety of domains related to teaching and arrives at a conclusion in support of strategies beneficial to ELL students and native English language students.

Findings:
Eight instructional approaches are supported in both literatures (what's good for ELL adolescents and adolescent native English speakers):

1. teacher modeling, strategy instruction, and using multiple forms of assessment;
2. emphasis on reading and writing;
3. emphasis on speaking and listening/viewing;
4. emphasis on thinking;
5. creating a learner-centered classroom;
6. recognizing and analyzing content-area discourse features;
7. understanding text structures within the content areas; and
8. vocabulary development.

Policy Recommendations:
n/a

• Link to Full Report

To order a hard copy of the report, contact:
The Education Alliance at Brown
222 Richmond Street, Suite 300
Providence, RI 02903-4226
Phone: 800.521.9550
Fax: 401.421.7650
E-mail: info@alliance.brown.edu

National Literacy Panel's Executive Summary
Developing Literacy in Second-Language Learners: Report of the National Literacy Panel on Language-Minority Children and Youth.

by National Literacy Panel, Diane August, Timothy Shanahan

August, D. and Shanahan, T. (2006). Developing Literacy in Second-Language Learners: Report of the National Literacy Panel on Language-Minority Children and Youth. Center for Applied Linguistics, Lawrence Erlbaum Associates: Mahwah, NJ.

Tags: Bilingual Instruction; Bilingualism / Biliteracy; Comprehension; Content Areas: Math; Content Areas: Science; Content Areas: Social Studies; Content Areas: The Arts; Curriculum; Differentiated Instruction; Fluency; Instructional Programs; Intervention; Language of Instruction; Language Proficiency; Phonics; Phonological Awareness; Placement; Vocabulary; Writing;

Target Population: Preschool, Elementary, Middle, High School

Research Questions the Report Poses: How do ELL students acquire literacy in a second language?

Summary: The National Literacy Panel on Language Minority Children and Youth systematically and rigorously examined the research on acquiring literacy in a second language. The full report was never published but the executive summary is useful for its vision and purposeful intent.

Findings:

• Instructional approaches that focus on phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and text comprehension-have clear benefits for ELLs. Like their native English speaking peers, ELLs benefit from these strategies as well as writing instruction.
• For students to become literate in English several instructional qualities need to be met including: content coverage, intensity and thorough instruction,
• ELL specific instruction, monitoring learning, and teacher preparation.
• Oral proficiency and literacy in the first language can be used to facilitate literacy development in English.
• Researchers have documented few sociocultural impacts on literacy achievement or development. However, researchers have found that home language experiences can have a positive impact on literacy achievement.

• Link to Full Report

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

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

The Role of English Teachers in Educating English Language Learners (ELLs)

NCTE ELL Task Force. (2006). NCTE Position Paper on the Role of English Teachers in Educating English Language Learners. National Council of Teachers of English: Urbana, IL.

Topics Covered: Best Teaching Practices / Professional Development; Bilingual Education; Literacy and Reading / Writing Instruction;

Tags: Bilingual Instruction; Bilingualism / Biliteracy; Comprehension; Content Areas: Math; Content Areas: Science; Content Areas: Social Studies; Curriculum; Differentiated Instruction; Fluency; Instructional Programs; Language of Instruction; Reading; Struggling Readers; Vocabulary; Writing;

Summary:

The National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) has pulled together information from a broad range of research on how to support English language learners in the classroom. It takes into account the variety of skill levels and background knowledge of ELL students and suggests best practices for teaching language, reading, writing, and content.

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