| Francesca Lopez
Marquette University
Language acquisition models as bridges into school knowledge: Effects on academic achievement of English language learners
Despite established guidelines for ameliorating educational opportunities among English Language Learners (ELLs), as well as a more recent attempt to ameliorate achievement disparities with the No Child Left Behind Act, ELLs continue to be among the most at-risk groups for dropping out of secondary school. Educators have suggested that for minority students, gaps between home and school cultures necessitate border crossing for successful learning across disciplines; Cummins language acquisition theory, however, asserts that academic fluency in ones native language is a prerequisite for acquiring academic fluency in a second language. To examine the tenability and generalizability of both theories, we propose the use of restricted-license NAEP 2009 data to examine the relationship between state-level language acquisition mandates and 4th and 8th grade English Language Learners achievement in reading, mathematics and science in the U.S. In our proposed study, we will augment NAEP data with state level variables (language acquisition laws, training for preservice teachers, Title III spending, science/math initiatives, and propensity scores) compiled using various databases from the U.S. Census Bureau, the Office of English Language Acquisition, the U.S. Department of Education, among others. Initial results suggest significantly higher achievement in all three subjects among 4th grade ELLs in states that employ bilingual education, suggesting that bilingual education may provide a better bridge than structured English immersion to span the cultural gap between home and school reading, math and science, at least for younger students in states where many ELLs are also at-risk because of their socioeconomic status.
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