Project Activities
During this two-year grant, the partnership worked with extant data to assess the causal effects—overall and by key subgroups—of immersion program participation on student achievement. Although the majority of students in DLI in Utah are native English speakers, the partnership also worked, in particular, to describe English learners' (ELs') access to immersion education. The research team also worked on planning and instrument development for next-phase studies.
Structured Abstract
Setting
The research incorporated all 41 districts in the state of Utah, 22 of which currently offer dual language immersion programs. In the 2015–16 academic year, Utah's public schools enrolled 633,896 students, 4.4% of whom were enrolled in dual language immersion programs.
Sample
The study used administrative data for all students who entered kindergarten in a Utah public school in the years 2004-05 through 2014-15-approximately 536,000 students. In 2014-15, Utah students were 76% white, 17% Hispanic, 3% Asian or Pacific Islander, 2% mixed race, 1% black, and 1% American Indian. Thirty-five percent were low-income; 11% received special education services; and 6% were English learners (ELs).
Data analytic strategy
The researchers used an instrumental variables strategy to estimate the causal effect of DLI participation on student achievement, as well as differential effects of one-way and two-way programs for ELs versus native English speakers. District-by-year variation in access to first-grade DLI slots provided plausibly causal identification. Student-level models were used to estimate achievement at each grade using district and year fixed-effect models that include controls for students' baseline characteristics.
Key outcomes
This two-year partnership grant laid the groundwork for further research and produced two working papers as well as several presentations.
People and institutions involved
IES program contact(s)
Project contributors
Partner institutions
American University
American Councils Research Center
Utah State Board of Education
University of Utah
Products and publications
Publications:
Steele, J. L., Watzinger-Tharp, J., Slater, R. O., Roberts-Aguirre, G., & Bowman, K. (2024). Achievement effects of dual language immersion in one-way and two-way programs: Evidence from a statewide expansion. The BE Journal of Economic Analysis & Policy, 24(4), 1101-1138.
Questions about this project?
To answer additional questions about this project or provide feedback, please contact the program officer.
