English Language Learners

1
English Language Learners Student Persistence
in Texas Public High Schools

• Angela Valenzuela, Ph.D.
• Ed Fuller, Ph.D.
• Julian Vasquez Heilig, Ph.D.
• Rebecca Callahan, Ph.D.
• Texas Center for Education Policy
• at
• The University of Texas at Austin

2
GOALS
Facilitate understanding of English Language
Learners
Change our vocabulary from leavers to
disappearances
Consider policy recommendations
Provide case study data on ELLs from an urban
district
3
National Socio-Demographic Context
Long-time U.S. students
Irregular instruction in own country
Spanish PRIMARY home language
English Language Learners
Are 1 in 5 of school- age children
Are 40 of foreign-born students
Prior schooling levels vary
4
Texas LEP Enrollment Growth
Total LEP enrollment grew By 14 (97-98 thru
03-04)
Total LEP enrollment grew by 158 (80-81 thru
96-97)
English Language Learners
TX 2nd LEP students (600,000)
15 of ALL students nationally LEP
5
ELL Achievement Dropping Out
Inadequate public investment
Low teacher expectations
High teacher/pupil ratios
Lack of cultural sensitivity
English Language Learners
Low teacher salaries
High stakes accountability system
Few highly qualified teachers
6
ELL Achievement Dropping Out (cont.)
Attend segregated, large urban schools
Attend schools with high proportions of poor youth
Academically behind
English Language Learners
8 school-age youth are immigrant 25 of ALL
dropouts
Attend high drop out schools
Attend schools with 60 completion
7
Psychometrically Inappropriate Assessment
Lack of reliability
Lack of validity
English only at secondary level
TAKS Test for ELL Students
Language dependent
Language errors vs. Academic errors
8
Disappearance Rate
Missing answer documents DISAPPEARANCE
Track from 2004 to 2005
9th grade answer documents
Disappearance Rate
Rate Disappearing students of
9th grade cohort students
9
Methodology
Home or private schooling
Student mobility
Snapshot limitations (October 31)
Student deaths
Methodology Problems
Methodology Benefits
Easier to track and verify using state data
No Leaver Codes
10
ELL Performance in an Urban District
11
Mean English TAAS Math Texas Learning Index (TLI)
by LEP Status
12
Mean English TAAS Reading Texas Learning Index
(TLI) by LEP Status
13
Mean Stanford Math Normal Curve Equivalent (NCE)
by LEP Status
14
Mean Stanford Reading Normal Curve Equivalent
(NCE) by LEP Status
15
1997 9th Grade Cohort Testing on the Spring Exit
TAAS by LEP Status
16
School Reported Dropout by LEP Status (7-12)
17
High School Cohort Progression by ELL Status
(Entering 9th from 1996-1998)
18
Graduation Rate of 1997-2001 9th Grade Cohort
19
Disappearance Rate by Race/Ethnicity
20
Disappearance Rate by Socio-Economic Status
21
Disappearance Rate byEnglish Language Learner
Status
22
Disappearance Rate byTAKS Results Status
23
Disappearance Rate for All Students, Hispanic
Students, ELL Students by Grade 9 Retention
Status
24
Disappearance Rate for All Students, Hispanic
Students, ELL Students by Grade 9 TAKS Status
25
Student Disappearance Rates
26
Using logistic regression analysis and individual
student disappearance as the dependent variable,
we controlled for the following variables
Student Economically Disadvantaged status
Gender Gifted and Talented Education status
Special Education status Grade 9 Retention
Having a Valid Score in Reading and
Math    School Predominantly Hispanic school ( gt
50 Hispanic) Affluent School (gt 75 not Econ
Dis) School enrollment lt 500 School
enrollment gt 3000 High Teacher Turnover High
Unqualified Teachers Non-Alternative schools
Charter School  District Urban Rural Suburban
White Region Service Center location (District
fixed effects)
27
Logistic Regression Analysis
  ELL students not exempted from testing and who
have scores for both tests are 70 less likely to
disappear than other ELL students.     ELL
students who are retained in grade 9 are 2.2
times more likely to disappear than ELL students
who were not retained.    ELL students enrolled
in schools with more than 75 not economically
disadvantaged students are 13 less likely to
disappear than ELL students in other schools.  
ELL students enrolled in suburban, White
districts are 22 less likely to disappear than
ELL students in other schools. ELL students
enrolled in urban districts are 14 more likely
to disappear than ELL students in types of
districts.  
28
Bottom Line

• Publicly reported Texas data on dropout and
  graduation do not provide an accurate picture of
  what happens to ELL or other students in Texas
  public schools.
• In addition to a racial/ethnic achievement gap,
  there is also an ELL-English proficient
  achievement gap.
• A failure to focus resources and attention on ELL
  students has resulted in low achievement and high
  disappearance rates for that subgroup.

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Policy Recommendations
Long-term academic achievement
1. Track Cohorts

• Latino Subgroup Information

Immigrant vs. Non-immigrant
Generational status
Length of residence in U.S.
Continuous vs. Interrupted education
Quality of prior schooling
30
Policy Recommendations
3. Bi-national Partnerships
International database
Student LEP academic proficiencies
Educational attainment levels
4. Modify TAKS testing approach
Norm Spanish-language assessments
Validate promote dual language proficiency
Multiple measure accountability system
31
Policy Recommendations
5. Additional Standards
Educational facilities
Educational programs
Teacher quality
Accountability on inputs
32
Questions???

• For information about the
• Texas Center for Education Policy contact
• Dr. Angela Valenzuela or
• Andrea Melendez [phone]
• tcep_at_teachnet.edb.utexas.edu