Utilizing Two-Way Bilingual Education for Reducing the Achievement Lag of LEP Students in Primary Grades: A Longitudinal Study.

This study investigated the effect of a bilingual education program on the achievement gap in language development between at-risk kindergarten students with minimal English proficiency and students who were proficient English speakers. Limited English Proficient (LEP) students were included in an Extended Foreign Language (EFL) program designed to develop and maintain students' language and literacy skills in two languages: English and Spanish. Participating students were identified as at-risk because they performed at significantly lower levels than students in the comparison group. Participants received instruction in English 70 percent of the time and Spanish 30 percent of the time. These students' academic performance was compared to that of a group of LEP and non-LEP students who attended the same school but did not participate in the EFL program. Progress was tracked for 2 years. Data from students' pretest-posttest scores indicated that at-risk students participating in the EFL program made adequate academic progress during the 2 years of the study. By the end of the second year, there were no statistically significant differences between the at-risk and the comparison groups in any of the seven indicators of verbal and academic development or in the standardized achievement test Scholastic Reading Inventory. (Contains 15 references.) (SM)