The characteristics of long-term English language learner students and struggling reclassified fluent English proficient students in Utah
Across the United States, and in the states served by the Regional Educational Laboratory West (REL West) in particular, there is widespread concern about how to successfully educate the growing number of English language learner (EL) students, especially those identified as long-term EL students and those identified as reclassified fluent English proficient (RFEP) students who struggle to score at passing levels on state English language arts (ELA)/reading content tests (Horwitz et al., 2009; Olsen, 2010; Quality Counts, 2009).
This study, which focuses on EL students in Utah, is one of a series of three companion studies that seek to help Arizona, Nevada, and Utah identify the characteristics of long-term EL students and Struggling RFEP students. For this study, we defined long-term English language learner students as students who, during the six school years of the study, never scored at or above the levels required on Utah’s English language proficiency (ELP) test to be reclassified as fluent English proficient. We compared these long-term EL students to their EL peers who did score at or above the levels required on Utah’s ELP test to be reclassified as fluent English proficient, whom we refer to as reclassified fluent English proficient (RFEP) students. Struggling RFEP students were defined as EL students who met the state’s ELP requirements for RFEP but did not pass the state ELA or reading content test by the end of year 6 of the study. We compared these Struggling RFEP students to their RFEP peers who did pass the state ELA or reading content test, whom we refer to as Transitioned RFEP students.
The study examined student data from 2006/07–2011/12 to address three research questions:
- What are the characteristics of long-term EL students? How are these characteristics different from those of RFEP students?
- What are the characteristics of Struggling RFEP students? How are these characteristics different from those of the RFEP students who passed their ELA content test at least once by the end of the six years?
- What are the characteristics of Struggling RFEP students? How are these characteristics different from those of the RFEP students who passed their ELA content test at least once by the end of the six years?
The study followed three cohorts of EL students in Utah: a grade K cohort, who started kindergarten in 2006/07; a grade 3 cohort, who started grade 3 in 2006/07; and a grade 6 cohort, who started grade 6 in 2006/07. By these three cohorts in Utah over six years (2006/07–2011/12), this study found the following:
Subgroup proportions
- At least two-thirds of the EL students scored at or above Utah's required ELP level to meet RFEP criteria.
- Among RFEP students, across all three grade-level cohorts, at least 90 percent passed their ELA content test at least once (thereby becoming Transitioned RFEP students).
- Among long-term EL students, at least 30 percent from each of the three grade-level cohorts passed the ELA content test at least once.
Subgroup characteristics
- Long-term EL students, when compared to their more successful RFEP peers, had higher percentages of eligibility for free or reduced-price lunch (FRL), eligibility for individualized education program (IEP) services, and male students.
- In general, Struggling RFEP students, when compared to their more successful Transitioned RFEP peers, had higher percentages of eligibility for FRL, eligibility for IEP services, and male students.
- Compared to their more successful RFEP and Transitioned RFEP peers, long-term EL students and Struggling RFEP students also had higher percentages of students with lower ELP levels during the first study year.
Details
Area
Long-Term EL Students (English Learner Students)
Publication Type
Report
Publication Date
October 1, 2014