Indicator: English learner progress
Definition
Emerging multilingual students achieve English proficiency within five years of being classified as English learners.
RECOMMENDED METRIC(S)
Percentage of English learner students who are reclassified in five years or less, based on local reclassification criteria
Type(s) of Data Needed
Administrative dataWhy it matters
There are widely documented disparities in the outcomes of English learner students and non-English learner students, which are especially pronounced for students who do not achieve English proficiency within five years. Long-term English learners tend to have a grade point average (GPA) below a 2.0 and to be two to three years below grade level in English language arts and math. The longer a student remains classified as an English learner, their risk of dropping out of school and having other adverse academic outcomes increases. In Arizona, for example, only 49 percent of long-term English learners graduated high school on time, compared to 81 percent of long-term proficient former English learners and 85 percent of never English learners. Long-term placement in English learner education can limit students’ opportunity to take college preparatory and early college courses.
Rates of economic disadvantage or disability status are generally higher for long-term English learners than English learner students reclassified earlier. For example, more than 50 percent of long-term English learner students in secondary grades in Arizona were eligible to receive individualized education program (IEP) services, compared to less than 15 percent of former English learners who had been reclassified as English proficient.
What to know about measurement
Data on English learner students’ reclassification status is widely collected because the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) requires districts to track students’ English language proficiency annually. States and districts vary in the assessments and criteria they use to test and reclassify English learner students. Although not perfectly comparable, this metric conveys a similar meaning across most contexts. In addition to tracking reclassification rates, which can be impacted by multiple criteria, systems should also monitor student performance on the required assessments of English proficiency.
Source frameworks
Four source frameworks reviewed for this report include a measure of English language learner progress or reclassification. Our proposed definition and measure draw on work by the CORE Districts.
References
The framework's recommendations are based on syntheses of existing research. Please see the framework report for a list of works cited.