Rachel Slama

This study of the 2010 and 2011 kindergarten cohorts of Spanish-speaking English learner students in four school districts in New Mexico examined the connection between initial Spanish proficiency and English language development, as well as grade-level readiness by grade 4 or 5 in English language arts and math. Key findings include: More than 80 percent of English learner students in the 2010 cohort started kindergarten at the lowest English proficiency level, as did half of those in the 2...

English learner students are challenged by the difficult task of learning English concurrently with learning content in areas such as reading and math. English learner students who have not attained proficiency in English or learned core course content by the middle and upper grades may not have the requisite skills to enroll in courses required for high school graduation, placing them at greater risk of dropping out of school before graduation. The lack of a high school diploma could subsequ...