Project ELLA (English language/Literacy Acquisition)*

Grantee: Texas A&M Research Foundation (TX A&M), in collaboration with Sam Houston State University (SHU) and Southern Methodist University (SMU)

Key Staff:
Raphael Lara-Alecio (TX A&M)
Beverly Irby (SHU)
Patricia Mathes (SMU)

Research Questions:

• How effective are the structured English immersion and transitional bilingual education programs in developing English proficiency and reading achievement for English-language learners whose first language is Spanish?
• Is there a difference in the effectiveness of each model type when instruction is enhanced to reflect best practice in language and literacy instruction as compared to instruction typically provided within each program type?
• Are there student, teacher or school characteristics that predict success in English proficiency and reading achievement for English-language learners whose first language is Spanish?
• Do student characteristics interact with program type (enhanced or typical), and/or teacher or school characteristics to predict success in English proficiency and reading achievement for English-language learners whose first language is Spanish?

Design: Approximately 837 native Spanish-speaking students in 23 schools in the Aldine Independent School District, a large urban school district in Houston, Texas, are participating in this study. Students begin the study in Kindergarten and will be followed through the third grade. Each of the 23 schools participating in the study has at least one structured English immersion (SEI) and one transitional bilingual education (TBE) Kindergarten classroom. For the randomized controlled trial, 11 schools were randomly assigned to receive enhanced versions (experimental condition) of each program type, and 12 schools were randomly assigned to continue with their program(s) as typically implemented (control condition). Students were assigned to either SEI or TBE programs by school personnel using standard practice.

Duration: 6 years (October 1, 2003–September 30, 2009)

Reports: The final report on this study will be announced on http://ies.ed.gov/ncee/.

Current Status: (August 2008) The fourth year of data collection is now complete. Data analysis will begin later in 2008 once the data has been entered, cleaned and added to the existing dataset.

* This grant was awarded under the English Language Acquisition Evaluation Program, CFDA 84.305P