Immigrants & Dual Language Learners

Abstract The high number of English language learners (ELLs) has brought a change in the demographics of public schools and a need to account for the educational experiences of these students, both linguistically and academically.

WASHINGTON — Repeal of birthright citizenship for the U.S.-born children of unauthorized immigrants would expand the unauthorized population by at least 5 million over the next four decades using conservative demographic assumptions, according to a new Migration Policy Institute (MPI) report.

This study analyzes the Arizona policy of utilizing a single assessment of English proficiency to determine if students should be exited from the ELL program, which is ostensibly designed to make it possible for them to succeed in the mainstream classroom without any further language support.

This report reviews achievement gaps in both reading and math between ELL and non-ELL students in Arizona over the post-Proposition 203 period 2005-2009 and during the first year of implementation of the 4 hour ELD block, 2008-09. The study finds that Arizona has made little to no progress in closing the achievement gap between ELL and non-ELL students during this period.

Assuring that English language learners (ELLs) receive the services to which they have a right requires accurately identifying those students.

In the Horne v. Flores Supreme Court decision of June 25, 2009, the Court wrote that one basis for finding Arizona in compliance with federal law regarding the education of its English learners was that the state had adopted a significantly more effective instructional model for EL students, that being Structured English Immersion (SEI). This paper reviews the extant research on SEI, its definitions, origins, and strategies.

The Arizona English Language Learners Assessment (AZELLA) is used by the Arizona Department of Education to determine which children should receive English support services.

This paper reviews the research on the impact of segregation on Latino and English learner students, including new empirical research conducted in Arizona.