Project Activities
The structure of this partnership between WestEd and FWISD included a steering committee, Language Center Advisory Group, two research subgroups, and an external advisory board. The partnership submitted a grant application to build on what was learned during work carried out by this grant.
Structured Abstract
Setting
The studies took place in FWISD, a district in the Dallas Fort Worth metropolitan area with approximately 28% of ELLs.
Sample
Participants for this study included all ELL sixth graders enrolled in FWISD in the 2006-2007 school year, and all ELL ninth graders enrolled in FWISD in the 2009-2010 school year. These students were expected to have graduated in 2013.
In 2011, 54% of immigrant students were reported as dropouts in the Fort Worth Independent School District (FWISD). Students who immigrate to the U.S. during adolescence must simultaneously learn challenging academic content in English as they acculturate to the U.S. All secondary immigrant newcomers in FWISD attend International Newcomer Academy for one year and Language Centers at four middle and seven high schools to develop academic and language skills, but this project aimed to improve its programs and strengthen systems for tracking student progress.
Initial research
The research team addressed two connected goals. First, researchers compared the academic trajectories of two cohorts of newcomers, one entering sixth grade and one entering ninth grade, to that of the overall group of ELLs. Reclassification out of ELL status, progress in English language proficiency, standardized test scores, summative outcomes (such as graduation) and attendance were compared for the two groups. Second, researchers carried out two case studies of Language Center programs (one at a middle school and another high school) to identify promising programs and practices for secondary immigrant ELLs. These case studies investigated academic, language, and social supports for ELLs in both school and extracurricular settings.
Key outcomes
The WestED-FWSID partnership produced four full research reports and five practitioner-oriented documents on their findings related to graduation rates for newcomer ELLs, demographic characteristics of first-year leavers, predictive traits for ELL graduation. These documents can all be found on ERIC here.
Key findings showed that adjusted graduation rates for students who participated in the International Newcomer Academy (INA) (58%) were lower than other ELLs (65%) and students who were not ELLs (78%). ELLs who were not enrolled at INA as ninth graders had consistently lower predicted graduation rates than students who were not ELLs as ninth graders. INA students who missed 20 or more days of school had less than a 50% chance of graduating. For all three subgroups, attendance was a statistically significant predictor of the graduation outcome. The number of days absent was more strongly associated with decreased likelihood of graduation for newcomers in two ways. First, an additional ten days absent was associated with an approximate 10% decrease in probability of graduating for newcomers. Second, newcomers who had 13 or more absences were less likely (58%) than their peers to graduate. They also learned that newcomers were much less likely to be on track (65%) than other ELLs (78%) or non-ELLs (81%). On-track newcomers graduated at a lower rate (65%) than other ELLs (73%) and non- ELLs (84%). Newcomers who were off track graduated at a higher rate (47%) than other ELLs (39%) but somewhat lower than non-ELLs (51%).
People and institutions involved
IES program contact(s)
Products and publications
Publications:
ERIC Citations: Publications available in ERIC can be found here.
Chu, H., & Fong, A. B. (2015). Ninth Grade Newcomers in the Fort Worth Independent School District: Comparisons to Other English Language Learners. San Francisco, CA: WestEd
Chu, H., & Fong, A. B. (2015). Ninth Grade Newcomers in the Fort Worth Independent School District: Predictors of Graduation Outcomes. San Francisco, CA: WestEd
Schmida, M., & Chu, H. (2016). Supporting Secondary Newcomers Academically, Socially, and Emotionally. San Francisco, CA: WestEd.
Chu, H., & Fong, A. B. (2015). Ninth Grade Newcomers in the Fort Worth Independent School District: A Focus on Academic Trajectories and Outcomes. Descriptive Report. San Francisco, CA: WestEd.
Walqui, A., & Chu, H. (2015). Exploring Longitudinal Outcomes and Trajectories of English Language Learners. San Francisco, CA: WestEd.
Walqui, A., & Chu, H. (2015). How Can Districts Improve Newcomer Graduation Outcomes? Policy Brief. San Francisco, CA: WestEd.
Walqui, A., Chu, H., & Schmida, M. (2016). How can schools support secondary newcomers academically, socially, and emotionally?. Policy Brief. San Francisco, CA: WestEd.
Supplemental information
Co-Principal Investigators: Michael Sorum, Genna Edmonds (Fort Worth Independent School District)
Partner: Fort Worth Independent School District
Questions about this project?
To answer additional questions about this project or provide feedback, please contact the program officer.
