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: Rafael Lara-Alecio (TX A&M), Beverly Irby (SHSU), 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, participated in this study. Students began the study in Kindergarten and were followed through the third grade. Each of the 23 schools had 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. By the end of third grade and with the pure longitudinal design, there were 390 students from these 23 schools who started in Kindergarten and remained in their respective programs for the duration of this project. The final year, fourth grade, students were followed and data collected without intervention for sustainability of intervention K–3.

Cost/Duration: $6,646,076 over 6 years (October 1, 2003–September 30, 2009)

Current Status: (February 2011)

This project is complete. The final project progress report has been received.

Key Findings:

• Students who received the enhanced SEI models developed phonemic awareness, listening comprehension, letter word identification, and passage comprehension skills more rapidly over the study period than students who received the typically implemented SEI models.
• Students who received the enhanced TBE models developed phonemic awareness, picture vocabulary, listening comprehension, and passage comprehension skills more rapidly over the study period than students who received the typically implemented TBE models.

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