English Language Acquisition Proficiency
June 2018
Question
What does the research say about the typical time it takes for a beginning-level English learner to achieve the state's definition of English language proficiency [i.e., to be reclassified as a fluent English proficient student]?
Ask A REL Response
Thank you for your request to our Regional Educational Laboratory (REL) Reference Desk. Ask A REL is a collaborative reference desk service provided by the 10 RELs that, by design, functions much in the same way as a technical reference library. Ask A REL provides references, referrals, and brief responses in the form of citations in response to questions about available education research.
Following an established REL Northwest research protocol, we conducted a search for evidence- based research. The sources included ERIC and other federally funded databases and organizations, research institutions, academic research databases, Google Scholar, and general Internet search engines. For more details, please see the methods section at the end of this document.
The research team has not evaluated the quality of the references and resources provided in this response; we offer them only for your reference. The search included the most commonly used research databases and search engines to produce the references presented here. References are listed in alphabetical order, not necessarily in order of relevance. The research references are not necessarily comprehensive and other relevant research references may exist. In addition to evidence-based, peer-reviewed research references, we have also included other resources that you may find useful. We provide only publicly available resources, unless there is a lack of such resources or an article is considered seminal in the topic area.
References
Greenberg Motamedi, J., Singh, M., & Thompson, K. D. (2016). English learner student characteristics and time to reclassification: An example from Washington state (REL 2016-128). Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences, National Center for Education Evaluation and Regional Assistance, Regional Educational Laboratory Northwest. https://eric.ed.gov
From the Abstract:
"How long does it typically take English learner students to develop English language proficiency? And how does this time vary by student characteristics such as English proficiency at entry to kindergarten, gender, and home language? The answers to these questions can provide valuable information to districts and schools. Regional Educational Laboratory (REL) Northwest, in partnership with the Road Map Project, undertook the study presented in this report to help its members understand more about their English learner student populations."
Haas, E., Huang, M., Tran, L., & Yu, A. (2016). The achievement progress of English learner students in Nevada (REL 2016-154). Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences, National Center for Education Evaluation and Regional Assistance, Regional Educational Laboratory West. https://eric.ed.gov
From the Executive Summary:
"The purpose of this study was to examine the cumulative progress of English learner students in Nevada in English language proficiency (ELP) and in academic content knowledge in both reading and mathematics. This study identified students in grades kindergarten, 3, and 6 who were designated as English learner students in 2006/07 and examined their progress from 2006/07 through 2011/12 on the ELP test, the reading content test, and the math content test as well as student characteristics."
Haas, E., Huang, M., Tran, L., & Yu, A. (2016). The achievement progress of English learner students in Utah (REL 2016-155). Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences, National Center for Education Evaluation and Regional Assistance, Regional Educational Laboratory West. https://eric.ed.gov
From the Executive Summary:
"Utah's annual measurable achievement objective 1 for English learner students—an average increase of slightly less than one English language proficiency level per school year—means that English learner students should have passed the Utah Academic Language Proficiency Assessment within one to six years of the start of the study, depending on the proficiency level at which they started in 2006/07. For example, English learner students who started the study at beginning proficiency (level 2) should have been able to achieve reclassification as fluent English proficient students within five years of the start of the study."
Haas, E., Tran, L., Huang, M., & Yu, A. (2015). The achievement progress of English learner students in Arizona (REL 2015-098). Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences, National Center for Education Evaluation and Regional Assistance, Regional Educational Laboratory West. https://eric.ed.gov
From the Abstract:
"The purpose of this study was to understand the learning trajectories of the growing numbers of English learner students in Arizona, especially those who struggle to pass state English language arts and math content tests. This study followed three cohorts of English learner students in Arizona (kindergarten, grade 3, and grade 6) over six school years, 2006/07 through 2011/12, to assess their progress in English proficiency and their academic progress in English language arts and math content knowledge. More than 90 percent of Arizona's English learner students scored at or above the required level for reclassification as fluent English proficient students."
Slama, R., Molefe, A., Gerdeman, D., Herrera, A., Brodziak de los Reyes, I., August, D. et al. (2017). Time to proficiency for Hispanic English learner students in Texas (REL 2018-280). Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences, National Center for Education Evaluation and Regional Assistance, Regional Educational Laboratory Southwest. https://eric.ed.gov
From the Abstract:
"Using data from the Texas Education Agency, a study team from Regional Educational Laboratory Southwest examined the average time it took the 2005/06 cohort of grade 1 Hispanic English learner students in Texas public schools to attain English proficiency and to demonstrate at least satisfactory academic performance in reading and math as measured by state standardized assessments."
Thompson, K. D. (2017). English learners' time to reclassification: An analysis. Educational Policy, 31(3), 330–363. Prepublication version retrieved from https://ir.library.oregonstate.edu
From the Abstract:
"This study uses 9 years of longitudinal, student-level data from the Los Angeles Unified School District to provide updated, empirically-based estimates of the time necessary for English learners (ELs) to become reclassified as proficient in English, as well as factors associated with variation in time to reclassification. To illustrate how different aspects of proficiency develop, estimates of the time necessary for ELs to attain six separate reclassification criteria are provided. Findings corroborate prior cross-sectional research suggesting that the development of full proficiency in a second language typically takes 4 to 7 years. However, after 9 years in the district, approximately one-fourth of students had not been reclassified."
Umansky, I. M., & Reardon, S. F. (2014). Reclassification patterns among Latino English learner students in bilingual, dual immersion, and English immersion classrooms. American Educational Research Journal, 51(5), 879–912. Retrieved from http://journals.sagepub.com
From the Abstract:
"Schools are under increasing pressure to reclassify their English learner (EL) students to "Fluent English proficient" status as quickly as possible. This paper examines timing to reclassification among Latino ELs in four distinct linguistic instructional environments: English immersion, transitional bilingual, maintenance bilingual, and dual immersion. Using hazard analysis and 12 years of data from a large school district, the paper investigates whether reclassification timing, patterns, or barriers differ by linguistic program. We find that Latino students enrolled in two language programs are reclassified at a slower pace in elementary school, but have higher overall reclassification, English proficiency, and academic threshold passage by the end of high school. We discuss the implications of these findings on accountability policies and educational opportunities in EL programs."
Methods
Keywords and Search Strings: The following keywords, subject headings, and search strings were used to search reference databases and other sources: English learner, English language proficiency (proficient), Beginning OR Pre-emergent, Reclassification, Time, Year, State
Databases and Resources: We searched ERIC for relevant resources. ERIC is a free online library of more than 1.6 million citations of education research sponsored by the Institute of Education Sciences (IES). Additionally, we searched Google Scholar and EBSCO databases (Academic Search Premier, Education Research Complete, and Professional Development Collection).
Reference Search and Selection Criteria
When we were searching and reviewing resources, we considered the following criteria:
Date of publications: This search and review included references and resources published in the last 10 years.
Search priorities of reference sources: Search priority was given to study reports, briefs, and other documents that are published and/or reviewed by IES and other federal or federally funded organizations, as well as academic databases, including ERIC, EBSCO databases, and Google Scholar.
Methodology: The following methodological priorities/considerations were given in the review and selection of the references:
- Study types: randomized control trials, quasi experiments, surveys, descriptive data analyses, literature reviews, and policy briefs, generally in this order
- Target population and samples: representativeness of the target population, sample size, and whether participants volunteered or were randomly selected
- Study duration
- Limitations and generalizability of the findings and conclusions
This memorandum is one in a series of quick-turnaround responses to specific questions posed by stakeholders in Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, and Washington, which is served by the Regional Educational Laboratory (REL) Northwest. It was prepared under Contract ED-IES-17-C-0009 by REL Northwest, administered by Education Northwest. The content does not necessarily reflect the views or policies of IES or the U.S. Department of Education, nor does mention of trade names, commercial products, or organizations imply endorsement by the U.S. Government.