Calling for an end to ideological debates on teaching
English language learners to read, a new report analyzing
more than three decades of research finds that bilingual
education programs produce higher levels of student
achievement in reading than English-only approaches for
this rapidly growing population. Today, about 20 percent of
students in the United States come from homes in which
English is not the primary language spoken.
The report's findings stand in direct contrast to
actions taken by the federal government and states such as
Arizona, California and Massachusetts that have limited the
amount of instruction ELL students may receive in their
native language.
The analysis, conducted by Robert Slavin of Johns
Hopkins and Alan Cheung of the
Success for All
Foundation, also found that students participating in
paired bilingual programs — those offering ongoing
instruction in a native language and English at different
times of the day — made the most dramatic gains in
reading performance compared to their English-only
peers.
The report, "Effective Reading Programs for English
Language Learners: A Best-Evidence Synthesis," found that
among 17 studies on elementary reading that met the
report's criteria for scientifically based research, most
found significant positive effects of bilingual education
on reading performance, and others found no difference. "In
no case did results from an English-only strategy exceed
those from a bilingual strategy," the report says.
Of these studies, nine were conducted over multiple
years. Five of these found greater gains through bilingual
education, four found no difference, and none favored
English-only.
To be included in the analysis, studies had to compare
bilingual instruction to English-only instruction with
English language learners, and there had to be evidence
that the two groups were comparable in reading performance
before the treatments began. The treatments had to be in
place for at least one year, and a quantitative, objective
measure of reading had to be used.
The report's findings offer important insight to the
politically charged debate over ELL students who are among
the groups most at-risk of not achieving new federal and
state goals for Adequate Yearly Progress now required by
the No Child Left Behind Act.
"Thousands of schools cannot meet their AYP goals
unless their English language learners are doing well in
reading," states the report. "More importantly, American
society cannot achieve equal opportunity for all if its
schools do not succeed with the children of immigrants."
Today, most non-English-speaking immigrants in the
United States are Hispanic, part of the fastest-growing
sector of the population and one that has chronically
underperformed academically. Only 44 percent of Latino
fourth-graders scored at or above the "basic" level on the
most recent National Assessment of Educational Progress
reading exam, compared to 75 percent of white students.
The report also found the quality of literacy
instruction for English language learners to be at least as
important a determining factor in student performance as
the degree of native language instruction that these
programs provide. The researchers examined a number of
specific, replicable programs that have been evaluated with
ELL students, using the same general criteria for inclusion
used to analyze the bilingual and English-only programs.
The researchers found "consistent positive effects"
from beginning reading programs using systematic phonics
and one-to-one and small-group tutoring models, methods
central to Success for All and Direct Instruction, two
literacy programs that were featured in much of the
research. The report also notes that all but one of the
programs found to be successful with English language
learners were adapted from programs found to be successful
with English-dominant students.
"While the number of high-quality studies is
sufficient to draw some conclusions about the most
effective methods and strategies for educating language
learners," Slavin said, "the field desperately needs more
studies that conform to the highest standards of
scientifically based research."
Slavin is co-director of the
Center for
Research on the Education of Students Placed at Risk at
Johns Hopkins and the chairman of the
Success for All Foundation, a nonprofit organization linked
to Hopkins that develops, evaluates and disseminates
programs for disadvantaged students. Alan Cheung is a
research scientist at the Success for All Foundation.
CRESPAR is a collaborative effort between Howard and
Johns Hopkins universities. The research and development
center is funded by the Institute for Education Sciences
and has launched an important comprehensive school
initiative designed to enhance the achievement, academic
environment and quality of life for students, teachers and
parents.
Other reports on educational approaches for English
language learners are available at CRESPAR's Web site,
www.csos.jhu.edu.