Moving kids to the mainstream.

AuthorWeyer, Matt
PositionTRENDS

Lawmakers are paying particular attention to a fast-growing segment of the K-12 school population: students who are learning English as a second language. These students currently comprise 10 percent of the K-12 school population nationwide, but the portion is projected to increase to 30 percent by 2050.

Now called "English learners," they face a significant challenge. While still mastering their first language, they must also learn material presented in English, with some help in their native language when available. Their achievement, as a whole, is substantially lower than their native-English-speaking classmates. On the 2015 National Assessment of Educational Progress, for example, the percent of fourth grade English learners reading proficiently trailed their white counterparts by 30 percent and in eighth grade by 32 percent.

To help close the gap, the challenge for lawmakers and educators is accurately determining when these students are ready to be reclassified--that is, moved from a classroom where they receive support in their native language into mainstream English classrooms. Reclassifying too early can lead to frustration and lower achievement, but reclassifying too late can result in social and educational stigmas, sometimes creating long-term English learners who never fully integrate into the mainstream.

There is considerable variation in states' reclassification criteria. The Every Student Succeeds Act requires the reclassification process to be standardized within each state and provides time for inspection and innovation of these...

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