http://www.rssboard.org/rss-specification 720 https://escholarship.org/uc/lmri/rss Recent eScholarship items from University of California Linguistic Minority Research Institute Fri, 11 Sep 2026 06:57:44 +0000 https://escholarship.org/uc/item/8m47c31z Spring 2008 https://escholarship.org/uc/item/8m47c31z Tue, 27 Mar 2012 00:00:00 +0000 UC Language Minority Research Institute https://escholarship.org/uc/item/8jf522qr Spring 2007 https://escholarship.org/uc/item/8jf522qr Tue, 27 Mar 2012 00:00:00 +0000 UC Language Minority Research Institute https://escholarship.org/uc/item/84s5c93z Volume 18, Number 1. https://escholarship.org/uc/item/84s5c93z Tue, 27 Mar 2012 00:00:00 +0000 UC Language Minority Research Institute https://escholarship.org/uc/item/7mv100k7 Spring 2006 https://escholarship.org/uc/item/7mv100k7 Tue, 27 Mar 2012 00:00:00 +0000 UC Language Minority Research Institute https://escholarship.org/uc/item/5tf772pn Summer 2006 https://escholarship.org/uc/item/5tf772pn Tue, 27 Mar 2012 00:00:00 +0000 UC Language Minority Research Institute https://escholarship.org/uc/item/5jc6k5xh Fall 2005 https://escholarship.org/uc/item/5jc6k5xh Tue, 27 Mar 2012 00:00:00 +0000 UC Language Minority Research Institute https://escholarship.org/uc/item/56p466qg Fall 2007 https://escholarship.org/uc/item/56p466qg Tue, 27 Mar 2012 00:00:00 +0000 UC Language Minority Research Institute https://escholarship.org/uc/item/52c0w0mq Fall 2006 https://escholarship.org/uc/item/52c0w0mq Tue, 27 Mar 2012 00:00:00 +0000 UC Language Minority Research Institute https://escholarship.org/uc/item/4qk3953h January - February 1998 https://escholarship.org/uc/item/4qk3953h Tue, 27 Mar 2012 00:00:00 +0000 UC Language Minority Research Institute https://escholarship.org/uc/item/4j32m4jg Winter 2006 https://escholarship.org/uc/item/4j32m4jg Tue, 27 Mar 2012 00:00:00 +0000 UC Language Minority Research Institute https://escholarship.org/uc/item/41d52006 Summer 2008 https://escholarship.org/uc/item/41d52006 Tue, 27 Mar 2012 00:00:00 +0000 UC Language Minority Research Institute https://escholarship.org/uc/item/36n2b8th Summer 2007 https://escholarship.org/uc/item/36n2b8th Tue, 27 Mar 2012 00:00:00 +0000 UC Language Minority Research Institute https://escholarship.org/uc/item/34f2s59c Winter 2007 https://escholarship.org/uc/item/34f2s59c Tue, 27 Mar 2012 00:00:00 +0000 UC Language Minority Research Institute https://escholarship.org/uc/item/26q4j33v Summer 2005 https://escholarship.org/uc/item/26q4j33v Tue, 27 Mar 2012 00:00:00 +0000 UC Language Minority Research Institute https://escholarship.org/uc/item/0cv4t541 Volume 18, Number 2. https://escholarship.org/uc/item/0cv4t541 Tue, 27 Mar 2012 00:00:00 +0000 UC Language Minority Research Institute https://escholarship.org/uc/item/9cn3h44h Volume 14, Number 1. https://escholarship.org/uc/item/9cn3h44h Thu, 5 Jan 2012 00:00:00 +0000 UC Language Minority Research Institute https://escholarship.org/uc/item/9bq1f0ps Volume 14, Number 2. https://escholarship.org/uc/item/9bq1f0ps Thu, 5 Jan 2012 00:00:00 +0000 UC Language Minority Research Institute https://escholarship.org/uc/item/9988n3ss Volume 13, Number 3. https://escholarship.org/uc/item/9988n3ss Thu, 5 Jan 2012 00:00:00 +0000 UC Language Minority Research Institute https://escholarship.org/uc/item/7vv981br Volume 12, Number 2. https://escholarship.org/uc/item/7vv981br Thu, 5 Jan 2012 00:00:00 +0000 UC Language Minority Research Institute https://escholarship.org/uc/item/62x0q5px Volume 11, Number 3. https://escholarship.org/uc/item/62x0q5px Thu, 5 Jan 2012 00:00:00 +0000 UC Language Minority Research Institute https://escholarship.org/uc/item/5x84b9hp Volume 11, Number 1. https://escholarship.org/uc/item/5x84b9hp Thu, 5 Jan 2012 00:00:00 +0000 UC Language Minority Research Institute https://escholarship.org/uc/item/5gs3134d Volume 12, Number 1. https://escholarship.org/uc/item/5gs3134d Thu, 5 Jan 2012 00:00:00 +0000 UC Language Minority Research Institute https://escholarship.org/uc/item/58n222cf Volume 12, Number 4. https://escholarship.org/uc/item/58n222cf Thu, 5 Jan 2012 00:00:00 +0000 UC Language Minority Research Institute https://escholarship.org/uc/item/51m8b6sw Volume 14, Number 3. https://escholarship.org/uc/item/51m8b6sw Thu, 5 Jan 2012 00:00:00 +0000 UC Language Minority Research Institute https://escholarship.org/uc/item/40n4g3z1 Volume 7, Number 3. https://escholarship.org/uc/item/40n4g3z1 Thu, 5 Jan 2012 00:00:00 +0000 UC Language Minority Research Institute https://escholarship.org/uc/item/2w16k0xq Volume 11. 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In the ten-year period from 1991-92 to 2001-02, California’s public schools added more than one million students, an increase of 20 percent. In the same period, the number of English learners (ELs) increased by 44 percent and the number of Fluent English Proficient (FEP) students increased by 41 percent. Altogether, language minority students represented more than 70 percent of the increase in student enrollment over this period.</p> https://escholarship.org/uc/item/6314w3dm Fri, 16 Dec 2011 00:00:00 +0000 Rumberger, Russell W. https://escholarship.org/uc/item/61h2m37t <p>Two main instructional approaches have been used to educate English learners in California—English language development (ELD) together with academic instruction in the primary language (bilingual education), and ELD with or without Specially Designed Academic Instruction in English (SDAIE). Since the passage of Proposition 227 in June 1998, native language instruction in California’s classrooms has continued to decline.</p> https://escholarship.org/uc/item/61h2m37t Fri, 16 Dec 2011 00:00:00 +0000 Rumberger, Russell W. https://escholarship.org/uc/item/4t61q2jv <p>Data from the last two U.S. decennial censuses provide an estimate of the bilingual population. In the 1990 and 2000 censuses, respondents (or parents of children) were asked whether they speak a language other than English at home and, if they do, how well they speak English. Although the data do not reveal how well respondents read and write English, which may be more important for performance in school or at work, they do provide valuable information on the language background of the U.S. and California populations.</p> https://escholarship.org/uc/item/4t61q2jv Fri, 16 Dec 2011 00:00:00 +0000 Rumberger, Russell W. https://escholarship.org/uc/item/46k8f6fj <p>California’s school-age population is becoming more linguistically, racially, and ethnically diverse. Between 1986-87 and 2003-04, the enrollment of linguistic minority students—students from households where a language other than English is regularly spoken— increased 120 percent in California’s public schools, or six times as fast as the 19 percent increase in enrollment of English-only students. The population of English learners—linguistic minorities who are not yet proficient in English—increased eight times as quickly. This growth was fueled by the 128 percent increase in Latino public school enrollment. During this same period, Asian enrollment increased 68 percent, Black enrollment increased 28 percent, and White enrollment declined by 6 percent.</p> https://escholarship.org/uc/item/46k8f6fj Fri, 16 Dec 2011 00:00:00 +0000 Rumberger, Russell W. https://escholarship.org/uc/item/2903c3p3 <p>One of the most important indicators of educational performance is the high school dropout rate. Reducing dropout rates and improving high school graduation rates are important goals for both educators and policymakers. Yet there is a great deal of controversy about how best to measure dropout and graduation rates. This issue of EL Facts provides estimates of dropout rates for language minority students, racial and ethnic groups, and socioeconomic groups.</p> https://escholarship.org/uc/item/2903c3p3 Fri, 16 Dec 2011 00:00:00 +0000 Rumberger, Russell W. https://escholarship.org/uc/item/1p30k70r <p>Although the passage of Proposition 227 reduced the demand for bilingual teachers, an acute shortage of teachers qualified to deliver needed instructional services to English learners remains. In 1998, prior to the passage of 227, 43 percent of the teachers providing instructional services to English learners were not fully certified to provide those services—33 percent of teachers were in training to provide English language development (ELD) or Specially Designed Academic Instruction in English (SDAIE) and 10 percent were in training to provide primary language instruction. By 2001-02, 25 percent of teachers providing instructional services to English learners were not fully certified. Statewide, almost 14 percent of all teachers do not hold a full credential. So English learners are almost twice as likely as students generally to be taught by a teacher who is not fully certified. That figure is even higher if you include another 14 percent of teachers who have other than... https://escholarship.org/uc/item/1p30k70r Fri, 16 Dec 2011 00:00:00 +0000 Rumberger, Russell W. https://escholarship.org/uc/item/1646x8rq <p>Researchers, policymakers, and practitioners are often interested in a number of demographic characteristics of students, such as race and ethnicity, language background, immigration status, and poverty. For example, the federal <em>No Child Left Behind</em> (NCLB) legislation requires schools and districts to report student test scores separately for major racial and ethnic groups, English learners, disabled students, and poor students. Yet while demographic populations are often viewed as distinct, in fact, these populations frequently intersect.</p> https://escholarship.org/uc/item/1646x8rq Fri, 16 Dec 2011 00:00:00 +0000 Rumberger, Russell W. https://escholarship.org/uc/item/9xx421bc <p>The paper documents the characteristics of California’s existing student and teacher population, explores research on the effect on students of having teachers who are from minority groups and/or teachers who earn credentials from programs that focus on diversity is- sues, identifies barriers to increasing the number of teachers with diverse backgrounds in the workforce, and makes recommendations to in- crease the pool of minority teachers and to improve the preparation of teachers to perform effectively with diverse students.</p> https://escholarship.org/uc/item/9xx421bc Wed, 14 Dec 2011 00:00:00 +0000 Gándara, Patricia Maxwell-Jolly, Julie https://escholarship.org/uc/item/7sh0x8kq <p>This document is an extension of the original report, entitled <em>Resource Needs for California’s English Learners</em>, authored by Patricia Gándara and Russell Rumberger, and is the result of deliberations from several informal meetings and two formal convenings of major stakeholders in the area of English Learner (EL) education. Its intent is to suggest a series of policy options, based on data examined in the initial report, that the state should consider to strengthen the educational offerings and outcomes for California’s burgeoning popula- tion of linguistic minority students.</p> https://escholarship.org/uc/item/7sh0x8kq Wed, 14 Dec 2011 00:00:00 +0000 UC Linguistic Minority Research Institute Education Policy Center https://escholarship.org/uc/item/6v77c7tj <p>In California, the state is responsible for ensuring equality of educational opportunity for all of its students. Yet, with respect to English learners, the state has largely failed even to assess the conditions of education for these students. It has not adequately monitored their educational opportunities in terms of access to critical resources such as qualified teachers, appropriate instructional materials, coursework, and learning environments. In this study we first examine the achievement gap for English learners in California. Second, we review evidence in seven areas in which these students receive a substantially inequitable education vis-à-vis their English- speaking peers, even when those peers are similarly economically disadvantaged. Third, we examine the failure of the state to monitor, prevent and correct substandard EL learning conditions. Finally, we discuss some possible ways for the state to equalize the opportunities for this significant sub-population... https://escholarship.org/uc/item/6v77c7tj Wed, 14 Dec 2011 00:00:00 +0000 Gándara, Patricia Rumberger, Russell W. https://escholarship.org/uc/item/6pd082d4 <p>Learning academic English is probably one of the surest, most reliable ways of attaining socio- economic success in the United States today. Learners cannot function in school settings effectively without it. This variety of English entails the multiple, complex features of English required for success in public schooling and career advancement. It involves mastery of a writing system and its particular academic conventions as well as proficiency in reading, speaking, and listening. Unfortunately, academic English has often been ignored or under-emphasized in public school instruction. Many have not understood its importance in helping students function in school settings or have misunderstood its complex nature. This paper discusses approaches to the study of academic English and presents a multi-dimensional framework for analyzing it. The dimensions include linguistic, cognitive, and socio-cultural/psychological ones. The paper also describes the relationship between the... https://escholarship.org/uc/item/6pd082d4 Wed, 14 Dec 2011 00:00:00 +0000 Scarcella, Robin https://escholarship.org/uc/item/65d6v84n <p>One of the most pressing problems in California is improving student academic performance, especially the state’s burgeoning Latino student population. This study examined the extent of the achievement gap between Latino and White students over the first two years of elementary school and the characteristics of students and schools that contribute to it. The analysis revealed that Latino students begin kindergarten at a considerable educational disadvantage relative to White students and the disadvantage increases during the first two years of school. Yet schools do little to widen or narrow these differences. Instead achievement differences increase when students are not in school. Consequently, to reduce the achievement gap will require both effective education policies and policies that address the overall social welfare of Latinos outside of school.</p> https://escholarship.org/uc/item/65d6v84n Wed, 14 Dec 2011 00:00:00 +0000 Rumberger, Russell W. Anguiano, Brenda Arellano https://escholarship.org/uc/item/6430628z <p>As long as students with limited English language skills have attended California schools a debate has raged among educators and policy-makers regarding how best to educate these children. A major focal point of this debate is bilingual education. That is, the viability, advisability, and effectiveness of using students’ primary language in instruction. However, everyone agrees that English Language Learners (ELs) must learn English, learn it well, and meet rigorous standards. No matter what the method or program of instruction, teachers of English language learners need special skills and training to effectively accomplish this task.</p> https://escholarship.org/uc/item/6430628z Wed, 14 Dec 2011 00:00:00 +0000 Gándara, Patricia Maxwell-Jolly, Julie Driscoll, Anne https://escholarship.org/uc/item/5kn6j13b <p>This study examined participation in preschool and its relationship with the cognitive and social development of language minority students. Although there is a large body of research that demonstrates the cognitive and social benefits of attending preschool (Barnett, 1995; Gorey, 2001; National Research Council, Committee on Early Childhood Pedagogy, 2000; Vandell, 2004), very little of this research has included language minority students, or at least those who do not speak English. Either non-English speaking families are not included in the design of the study, such as with the widely cited National Institute for Child Health and Development (NICHD) Early Child Care Study, or the studies are based on cognitive and social assessments that are only conducted in English (e.g., Magnuson, Meyers, Ruhm, &amp; Waldfogel, 2004). Consequently, little is known about participation in and outcomes of preschool for the growing population of language minority students.</p> https://escholarship.org/uc/item/5kn6j13b Wed, 14 Dec 2011 00:00:00 +0000 Rumberger, Russell W. Tran, Loan https://escholarship.org/uc/item/10s9v1t3 <p>There are several reasons why California needs to pay careful attention to the schooling of language minority students in their public schools. First, language minority students now constitute more than one-third of all students in California’s schools—a proportion that will grow even higher in the future. Second, English learners require a specialized curriculum and properly trained teachers to support their development of English literacy and to learn the rest of the required academic curriculum if they are to keep pace with their English-speaking peers. Third, the schooling of English learners is highly politicized—particularly concerning the use of native language instruction (or bilingual education) in developing native language literacy and initial academic content while learning English. Although the research evidence on developing English literacy in non-English speaking students is very sparse, prompting the federal government to initial a number of long-term research... https://escholarship.org/uc/item/10s9v1t3 Wed, 14 Dec 2011 00:00:00 +0000 Rumberger, Russell W. https://escholarship.org/uc/item/6h72r068 <p>Despite the best efforts of thousands of dedicated people, California’s secondary schools are failing to adequately educate the majority of the state’s English language learners (ELs). The purpose of this paper is to present a vision for high schools that will promote greater success for these students. This vision is based on Norm Gold’s 30 years of experience in the field with teachers and administrators responsible for educating English learners and immigrant students.1 In his words, “This experience leaves me with a growing sense that the problems in EL education are escalating. High schools do not work well for most of these students, and California must take definitive, comprehensive, and long-term action to change this situation now.”</p> https://escholarship.org/uc/item/6h72r068 Tue, 25 Oct 2011 00:00:00 +0000 Gold, Norm Maxwell-Jolly, Julie https://escholarship.org/uc/item/4k87d8th <p>An increasing number of students entering California’s schools come from non-English speaking backgrounds. Although some of these language minority students enter school already proficient in English, the majority do not. These students are now referred to as English learners.</p><p>There are several reasons why Californians need to pay careful attention to the schooling of language minority students in their public schools. First, language minority students now constitute more than one-third of all students in California’s schools—a proportion that will grow even higher in the future. Clearly, the success of California’s students and schools will increasingly depend on the state’s ability to successfully educate language minority students.</p><p>Second, English learners require a specialized curriculum and properly trained teachers to support their development of English literacy. Complicating matters is the fact that these students, even as they learn English, must also have... https://escholarship.org/uc/item/4k87d8th Tue, 25 Oct 2011 00:00:00 +0000 Rumberger, Russell W. Gándara, Patricia https://escholarship.org/uc/item/491925b7 <p>In June 1998, California voters passed Proposition 227, which severely restricted the use of primary language for instructing English learners, and instead called for a transitional program of “structured English immersion” that was not normally to last more than one year. What has been the initial impact of Proposition 227?</p><p>During the first year of implementation a team of University of California researchers studied the effects of Proposition 227 in 16 districts and 25 schools throughout the state. The researchers interviewed district administrators, principals, teachers, and bilingual coordinators and observed classrooms. This study has yielded several important insights into the early implementation and impact of Proposition 227.</p><p>First, statewide, 29 percent of English learners were in a primary language program prior to 227, and only 12 percent were assigned to one after the implementation of 227. Across the districts and schools we studied, there was wide... https://escholarship.org/uc/item/491925b7 Tue, 25 Oct 2011 00:00:00 +0000 Gándara, Patricia Maxwell-Jolly, Julie García, Eugene Asato, Jolynn Gutiérrez, Kris Stritikus, Tom Curry, Julia https://escholarship.org/uc/item/1133v9cc <p>The following report was written at the request of the Latino Caucus of the California Legislature and was completed in April of 1997 as the debate surrounding Proposition 227 was getting underway. The impetus for the report was the concern of the caucus that much of the rhetoric in the press and on the street was that "bilingual education had failed." The Caucus asked the question, "Is there research evidence that bilingual education works?" Hence, the task that was put to us was "not" to provide an accounting of studies and essays on all sides of the issue, but to essentially "present the case" for bilingual education.</p><p>We called upon many of the most distinguished researchers in the field and asked them to provide guidance in answering the question that had been posed to us. (Their names are listed at the end of the report). This report represents a synthesis of their recommendations along with some analysis of basic education data. Our essential conclusion is that... https://escholarship.org/uc/item/1133v9cc Tue, 25 Oct 2011 00:00:00 +0000 Gándara, Patricia https://escholarship.org/uc/item/0mb8092z <p>This paper explores the feasibility of collecting longitudinal survey data on students within California schools as a way of supplementing the information California currently collects on its students. Hopefully, this paper will be the start of a process that will lead to the institution of what we in this paper tentatively call the California Education Longitudinal Study (CELS). After demonstrating the feasibility of a CELS during a briefing with policymakers in Sacramento on April 27, 2001 (see Appendix B), my presumption is that California will either contract with other outside consultants familiar with data collection operations or use current state government staff to develop a full written design of CELS. This design should lead, in turn, to either an in- house data collection or a data collection by a survey research firm familiar with large-scale longitudinal surveys.</p> https://escholarship.org/uc/item/0mb8092z Tue, 25 Oct 2011 00:00:00 +0000 Kaufman, Phillip https://escholarship.org/uc/item/5m14j4vp <p>This report is a synthesis of research, challenges, and best practices in the education of secondary English Learners (ELs). It incorporates a summary of three days of presentations and discussions by key national experts in the spring of 2005, observations and findings from our own research, and key issues from the research literature. The report provides an overview of the most pressing issues facing schools in the instruction of secondary English Learners. It also includes the perspectives of people in the schools and in the classrooms who are attempting to meet these students’ needs, as well as individuals who have been grappling with the challenges from the world of policy. The report concludes with our recommendations for California education policy informed by all of the above: the challenges that secondary EL students and teachers face, the needs and limitations of teachers and schools in the state, and the best practices cited by both researchers and practitioners.... https://escholarship.org/uc/item/5m14j4vp Thu, 20 Oct 2011 00:00:00 +0000 Maxwell-Jolly, Julie Gándara, Patricia Méndez Benavídez, Lina https://escholarship.org/uc/item/2hw8k347 <p>This policy report focuses on the tensions and dilemmas surrounding one of the most common milestones used for defining and measuring English Learners’ (ELs) progress: their redesignation or reclassification from limited to fluent English proficient (FEP). Although reclassification can have important consequences for students and for the education programs that serve them—determining instructional services, performance expectations, and evaluative judgments of programs—the concept of reclassification, as currently defined and implemented, cannot credibly carry this responsibility. In fact, it may actually be contributing to educational inequity, lack of accountability, and student failure.</p><p>After briefly reviewing the purposes and methods of identifying, classifying, and serving language-minority students, the report identifies three problems with the current situation. First, the complex nature of what ELs must demonstrate in order to be reclassified FEP is often poorly... https://escholarship.org/uc/item/2hw8k347 Mon, 20 Jun 2005 00:00:00 +0000 Linquanti, Robert https://escholarship.org/uc/item/13w7m06g <p>One of the most commonly asked questions about the education of language minority students is how long they need special services, such as English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) and bilingual education. Under the U. S. Supreme Court’s interpretation of the Civil Rights Act in Lau v. Nichols (1974), local school districts and states have an obligation to provide appropriate services to limited-English-proficient students (in California now referred to as EL or English learner students), but policy makers have long debated setting time limits for students to receive such services. The purpose of this paper is to pull together findings that directly address this question.</p><p>This study reports on data from four different school districts to draw conclusions on how long it takes students to develop oral and academic English proficiency. Academic English proficiency refers to the ability to use language in academic contexts, which is particularly important for long-term success in... https://escholarship.org/uc/item/13w7m06g Mon, 20 Jun 2005 00:00:00 +0000 Hakuta, Kenji