Report English Learner Trajectories and Reclassification By Julian Betts, Laura Hill, Karen Bachofer, Joseph Hayes ... Sep 23, 2019 Nearly 40% of California’s K–12 students are current or former English Learners, and California is now standardizing the policies that will define English proficiency across the state. Los Angeles and San Diego have taken two different, but largely effective, approaches.
Report Achievement in California’s Public Schools: What Do Test Scores Tell Us? By Paul Warren, Julien Lafortune Jul 10, 2019 California’s student test scores show significant progress in English—but they also show stalled gains in math and persistent income achievement gaps. State actions to improve math instruction and support struggling districts could help boost student performance.
blog post Video: English as a Second Language in California Community Colleges By Mary Severance May 2, 2019 PPIC researcher Bonnie Brooks presents findings from a new report on ESL in community colleges, and an expert panel discusses how campuses across the state are taking steps to strengthen their ESL programs.
Report English as a Second Language in California’s Community Colleges By Olga Rodriguez, Sarah Bohn, Laura Hill, Bonnie Brooks Apr 29, 2019 English language proficiency can facilitate social and economic mobility for non-native speakers—and California’s community colleges are key providers of ESL education. Now that a new law is motivating colleges across the state to reexamine their ESL programs, we need a better understanding of ESL students and the policies that help them succeed.
Report Academic Progress for English Learners: The Role of School Language Environment and Course Placement in Grades 6-12 By Laura Hill, Julian Betts, Megan Hopkins, Magaly Lavadenz ... Jan 23, 2019 English Learners in middle and high school come from a variety of backgrounds and face unique challenges. The school’s language environment and course placement practices are two factors that may affect their academic and linguistic progress.
blog post Are K–12 Students Keeping Pace in English? By Paul Warren, Julien Lafortune Nov 1, 2018 Across all grades, growth in average SBAC test scores in English outpaced proficiency standards, but in most grades racial disparities still persist.
blog post Are K–12 Students Keeping Pace in Math? By Paul Warren, Julien Lafortune Oct 12, 2018 The 2018 SBAC results of California's K–12 students show modest improvements over last year. But focusing on longer-term outcomes could be more instructive.
Report California’s K–12 Test Scores: What Can the Available Data Tell Us? By Paul Warren Jun 25, 2018 California’s K–12 system relies on the Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium (SBAC) English and mathematics tests to measure student academic progress and assess school and district performance. This report uses publicly available data to explore trends in student performance during the first three years this test has been in place.
Report K–12 Reforms and California’s English Learner Achievement Gap By Laura Hill May 30, 2018 English Learner (EL) students have been a key part of California’s K–12 system for decades. They currently make up about 21 percent of the public school population. English Learner status is meant to be temporary, and indeed, reclassified English Learners (those who are deemed English proficient) are among the best-performing students in the state. But students who remain ELs for longer periods generally have poor outcomes.
Fact Sheet California’s High School Graduation Requirements By Niu Gao, Lunna Lopes, Grace Lee Nov 27, 2017