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To what extent do Spanish-speaking English learner students develop English proficiency and grade-level readiness in English language arts and math from early elementary school to upper elementary school? Is there a relationship between proficiency in a student's primary home language, Spanish, and the amount of time needed to attain fluency in the student's second language, English? And are there differences in these relationships across English learner student subgroups? These topics are of high priority to members of the New Mexico Achievement Gap Research Alliance. New Mexico has a long history of working to support the maintenance and development of students' biliteracy skills. Many members of the alliance provide districts with technical assistance related to English learner students, so answers to these questions may inform this technical assistance. This study, conducted by the Regional Educational Laboratory Southwest, sought to inform the New Mexico Achievement Gap Research Alliance about the path toward English proficiency and academic outcomes for Spanish-speaking English learner students who entered kindergarten with varying levels of Spanish proficiency. The study followed two cohorts of Spanish-speaking English learner students in four districts in New Mexico from kindergarten through grade 4 or 5. The 2010 cohort included students enrolled in kindergarten in 2009/10 who were followed through grade 5, and the 2011 cohort included students enrolled in kindergarten in 2010/11 who were followed through grade 4. The study examined cumulative rates of English learner students' progress toward reclassification as fluent English proficient. The study also examined students' demonstration of grade-level readiness on the New Mexico Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (NMPARCC) standardized academic assessments in English language arts and math in grades 4 and 5. All of the results were also observed through the lens of initial Spanish proficiency in kindergarten to understand differences among groups of English learner students. The main findings were: (1) More than 80 percent of English learner students in the 2010 cohort started kindergarten at the lowest English proficiency level, as did half of those in the 2011 cohort; (2) Nearly 83 percent of students in the 2010 cohort attained English proficiency by grade 5, and 59 percent of students in the 2011 cohort did so by grade 4; (3) Among English learner students with high initial Spanish proficiency, nearly all those in the 2010 cohort were reclassified as fluent English proficient by grade 5, and nearly three-quarters of those in the 2011 cohort were reclassified by grade 4; (4) Among English learner students with low or medium initial Spanish proficiency, roughly a quarter of the 2010 cohort were not reclassified as fluent English proficient by grade 5, and almost half the 2011 cohort were not reclassified by grade 4; (5) Of English learner students who were reclassified as fluent English proficient by grade 4 or 5, fewer than a quarter also demonstrated grade-level readiness in grade 4 or grade 5 English language arts or math on the NMPARCC assessment; (6) Regardless of initial Spanish proficiency, the rates of grade-level readiness were generally low on NMPARCC English language arts and math outcomes in grades 4 and 5. However, students with high initial Spanish proficiency were more likely to demonstrate grade-level readiness than were students in the other Spanish proficiency groups; and (7) Grade-level readiness in English language arts and math among students in the two cohorts who were reclassified as fluent English proficient in grades 4 and 5 was generally lower than statewide averages for all students in the same grades in New Mexico. Most students who were identified as English learner students in kindergarten required a minimum of three to four years of instruction after kindergarten to attain English proficiency. A large percentage of students were not reclassified as fluent English proficient before leaving elementary school. Even when students were reclassified, this milestone did not always translate into grade-level readiness in English language arts and math. Among English learner students who were reclassified as fluent English proficient by grade 4 or 5, only a small percentage demonstrated grade-level readiness in grade 4 or grade 5 English language arts and math. The findings suggest that English learner students with low and medium initial Spanish proficiency will not fare as well in English language arts and math as students with high initial Spanish proficiency. A Spanish proficiency measure could be used as an early indicator to target students with low and medium Spanish proficiency in kindergarten for language and literacy interventions in early grades.

English learner students are challenged by the difficult task of learning English concurrently with learning content in areas such as reading and math. English learner students who have not attained proficiency in English or learned core course content by the middle and upper grades may not have the requisite skills to enroll in courses required for high school graduation, placing them at greater risk of dropping out of school before graduation. The lack of a high school diploma could subsequently limit the economic opportunities open to them. Texas, which serves 16 percent of the nation's English learner students (U.S. Department of Education, 2016), provides a unique context for examining the time it takes these students to achieve English proficiency and master core content. Using data from the Texas Education Agency, a study team from Regional Educational Laboratory Southwest examined the average time it took the 2005/06 cohort of grade 1 Hispanic English learner students in Texas public schools to attain English proficiency and to demonstrate at least satisfactory academic performance in reading and math as measured by state standardized assessments. This longitudinal study also examined whether the time it took students to attain these key outcomes differed by enrollment in a public prekindergarten program, initial English language proficiency level, the type of English learner program (English as a Second Language or bilingual), whether a parent had opted the student out of English learner services, and student background characteristics (gender, eligibility for the federal school lunch program, immigrant status, and participation in a special education program). This study demonstrates the use of state historical data to expand knowledge of how English learner students fare in school while classified as English learner students and after reclassification as fluent English proficient. Study results can be used to inform expectations for progress toward English language proficiency for English learner students.

This literature review begins with a description of the process used to conduct the literature review, parameters for the review, and the characterization of the literature. The body of this review consists of four sections: (1) Development and/or Adoption of State English Language Proficiency (ELP) Standards, (2) Design and Development of the ELP Assessment System, (3) Technical Quality, and (4) Uses of an ELP Assessment System for Accountability. The research questions are described at the beginning of each section. At the end of the document, Areas for Further Research are provided, some of which are related to outstanding problems of practice.

Over the past twenty years, efforts to turn around low-performing schools have increasingly become a central component of federal and state education policy agendas. The purpose of the study was to evaluate the impact of the Wraparound Zones Initiative (WAZ), a program supported by the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (ESE), on student outcomes including achievement, attendance, retention, and suspension. The study was conducted as part of a multi-year mixed-methods, formative and summative evaluation of WAZ that ESE commissioned from American Institutes for Research (AIR). The setting consisted of districts and schools in Massachusetts that had been identified by the state as chronically underperforming and in need of state intervention. The sample for this study was drawn from students in Cohort 1 and Cohort 2 WAZ schools serving elementary and/or middle grades, plus students in a set of matched non-WAZ comparison schools. The WAZ Initiative is designed to create coordinated district systems that allow schools to proactively and systematically address students' nonacademic needs. Comparative interrupted time series (CITS) design was used to measure the impact of receiving a WAZ grant on student outcomes, including student achievement, attendance, retention, and suspension. Overall, students in WAZ schools performed better on the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System (MCAS) English language arts (ELA) and mathematics assessments as compared with students in comparison schools, when considering prior achievement trends. Effects were statistically significant after the second and third years of WAZ implementation for ELA, and after the second year for mathematics. This research study is significant in that it demonstrates that a program focused on student support and social-emotional learning can have an impact on student achievement, and can be an integral component of overall school turnaround strategy.

The present study was commissioned by the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (ESE) to provide a profile of Massachusetts English Language Learners (ELLs) and policy recommendations for improving their outcomes. ESE was concerned about previous study findings that most of these learners exited ELL instructional programs at relatively fast rates--within three years of school entry as kindergartners--but struggled academically following exit. Furthermore, the State was concerned about the numbers of students who never exited ELL instructional services at all. The purpose of this report is to update and expand these findings to reflect changes in the standards and assessments for ELLs and a major statewide initiative to improve the training of core academic teachers of ELLs.