According to Daniel Weintraub of the Sacramento Bee, in California schools the phrase 'English Learner' is "finally starting to mean what it says." The latest results from the California English Language Development Test show that 47 percent of English Language Learner (ELL) students in the Golden State scored either "advanced" or "early advanced" (meaning at or approaching fluency) in 2004, up from 25 percent in 2001. Weintraub attributes this spike to implementation of the Proposition 227, the contentious 1998 ballot measure that all but eliminated bilingual education in favor of English immersion. (See http://www.edexcellence.net/gadfly/issue.cfm?issue=71#1026 and http://www.edexcellence.net/gadfly/issue.cfm?issue=17#227 for more.) Of course, some educators contend that the score gains are due, at least in part, to the fact that not all students who achieve fluency are then mainstreamed. Since schools receive state and federal funds to serve ELL students, there is a financial incentive not to reclassify students. In fact, in 2003, 8.3 percent of ELL students were reclassified as fully English proficient despite the fact that 42 percent of them scored high enough to be considered "fluent." According to Wayne E. Wright, an assistant professor of cultural and bilingual studies at the University of Texas at San Antonio, "there's probably some magic number where you reclassify enough to meet federal standards, but not so many that you lose money." California state superintendent Jack O'Connell recently said that he would push districts across the state to become more efficient at reclassifying students, arguing that "there should be more of a correlation between the test scores and the reclassification rates."
"Good news for state's 'English learners,'" by Daniel Weintraub, Sacramento Bee, February 13, 2005 (registration required)
"English scores improve," by Jon Fortt, San Jose Mercury News, February 9, 2005
"More students show fluency in English," by Duke Helfand, Los Angeles Times, February 9, 2005
"State schools chief O'Connell announces significant gains in percentage of English learners reaching English proficiency," California Department of Education press release, February 7, 2005