A National Study of School Effectiveness for Language Minority Students is a long-term research project in the United States. This five-year research study (1996-2001) is the most recent overview of the types of U.S. school programs provided for these linguistically and culturally diverse students, especially focusing on English language learners’ (ELLs/LEPs) academic achievement in Grades K-12. The research includes findings from five large urban and suburban school districts in various regions of the U.S. where large numbers of language minority students attend state schools. Over 700,000 language minority student records were collected. This study documents the academic achievement of pupils with English as an additional language (EAL) over 4 to 12 years and across academic subject areas. Records examined included those of students who remained in long-term language support programs (5-6 years), those in short-term programs (1-3 years), and those who were taught in mainstream English-only classes.
Unlike the UK where pupils with EAL are mainstreamed, there is a wide variety of educational programmes for EAL pupils in the U.S. The study compared different teaching programmes for pupils with EAL and concludes that certain programmes are much more effective than others. The analysis focuses on EAL pupils' academic outcomes from eight different programme types, including 50-50 dual language teaching and English as an Additional Language taught through academic content.
The study concluded that bilingual education and dual language programmes were the most effective ways to empower EAL pupils with the literacy tools they need to be successful students in the English language mainstream. The study findings are conclusive about academic achievement in a variety of learning areas.
- Bilingual immersion and dual language education were the only programmes that assisted EAL students to fully reach the 50th percentile (scoring above 50% of the other test takers) in both their mother tongue and in English in all subject areas and to maintain that level of high achievement, or reach even higher levels through the end of their schooling. The fewest 'dropouts' (leaving school with no qualifications) come from these programs.
- EAL pupils who attended only English mainstream programmes showed large decreases in reading and math achievement by Year 5 when compared to students who participated in language support programmes. The largest number of school 'dropouts' came from this group.
- During secondary school, EAL pupils schooled in bilingual programmes outperformed EAL pupils schooled only in English.
The research findings offer a number of recommendations: in order to close the average achievement gap between EAL pupils and native English speakers, language support programmes must be well implemented, not segregated, and sustained for five to six years. Even the most effective language support programmes close only half of the achievement gap in two to three years. These findings offer food for thought for teachers and policy makers in Britain where, with or without a short induction period, EAL pupils are placed in mainstream English-medium classes.
Related research on academic achievement in a second language (Collier and Thomas, 1989) has concluded that EAL pupils who have mother tongue schooling acquire the language proficiency needed to achieve academically in English much faster than EAL pupils who have had little or no formal schooling in their mother tongue. Academic achievement on a par with native speakers of English was often delayed by as much as 1 to 5 years more if there has been no mother tongue schooling.
Principal Investigators:
Wayne P. Thomas — George Mason University
Virginia P. Collier — George Mason University
Project Period:
July 1996 - June 2001
Related reading
Collier, V.P. & Thomas, W.P. (1989). How quickly can immigrants become proficient in school English? Journal of Educational Issues of Language Minority Students, 5, 26-38.
Thomas, W. & Collier, V. (1997). School effectiveness for language minority students (NCBE Resource Collection Series No. 9). Washington, DC: National Clearinghouse for Bilingual Education
