The Oregon English Learner Alliance: A Partnership to Explore Factors Associated with Variation in Outcomes for Current and Former English Learners in Oregon

The main findings from this partnership work include:

• Based on the creation and application of a decision rule to identify former ELs in the state data system, approximately 9% of students were identified as former ELs between 2006-07 through the 2016-17 school years. By high school, former ELs outnumbered current ELs by more than three to one. Former ELs were as likely or more likely than their Never EL peers to graduate with a regular diploma in four years.
• After seven years, students who entered Oregon schools as ELs in kindergarten had a 73% cumulative likelihood of exiting EL services. The median number of years it took students who enter Oregon schools as ELs in kindergarten to exit EL status (i.e., the median lifetime) was 5.6 years. Girls, students who entered kindergarten with higher initial English proficiency, and students who did not qualify for free/reduced-price lunch were more likely to exit sooner.
• Reclassification had no significant effect on students' likelihood of graduating in most districts but had a positive effect in some districts and a negative effect in other districts.
• Ever ELs were significantly less likely than Never ELs to be identified with a disability. Notably, ELs with disabilities were significantly less likely to attain English proficiency and exit EL services than ELs without disabilities.
• Current ELs were significantly more likely than other students to be excluded from core content courses. For example, 80% of current ELs were enrolled in a science course in 9th grade compared to 95% of never ELs and 96% of former ELs.

In addition, the partnership work influenced policy and practice in Oregon in three specific ways:

• ODE incorporated information about outcomes for Ever ELs (e.g., achievement and growth, chronic absenteeism, and graduation rates) into school and district report cards, the statewide report card, and technical reports corresponding to specific state initiatives.
• ODE began using data for Ever ELs in 2015-16 to identify districts in need of support, assistance, and improvement per Oregon House Bill (HB) 3499. This district accountability system identifies the districts with the highest needs and lowest outcomes as measured by demographic (e.g., proportions of students who are economically disadvantaged, migrant, homeless, etc.) and outcome data (e.g., growth, graduation, and post-secondary enrollment) for Ever ELs.
• The team's analysis of the time necessary for ELs to attain English proficiency and exit EL services informed the design of the EL progress indicator for Oregon's state plan for implementation of the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA).