PLANNING AND EVALUATION SERVICE

THE SAME HIGH STANDARDS FOR MIGRANT

STUDENTS: HOLDING TITLE I SCHOOLS

ACCOUNTABLE

Executive Summary

Volume I: Title I Schools Serving Migrant Students: Recent

Evidence from the National Longitudinal Survey of Schools

Volume II: Measurement of Migrant Student Educational

Achievement

Volume III: Coordinating the Education of Migrant Students:

Lessons Learned from the Field

2002

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

DOC #2002-19

THE SAME HIGH STANDARDS FOR MIGRANT

STUDENTS: HOLDING TITLE I SCHOOLS

ACCOUNTABLE

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Volume I: Title I Schools Serving Migrant Students:

Recent Evidence from the National Longitudinal Survey of

Schools

Volume II: Measurement of Migrant Student Educational

Achievement

Volume III: Coordinating the Education of Migrant

Students: Lessons Learned from the Field

2002
U. S. Department of Education

Rod Paige

Secretary

Office of the Under Secretary

Eugene W. Hickok

Under Secretary

Planning and Evaluation Service

Alan L. Ginsburg

Director

Elementary and Secondary Education Division

Ricky T. Takai

Director

September 2002

This report is in the public domain. Authorization to reproduce it in whole or in part is granted. While

permission to reprint this publication is not necessary, the citation should be: U. S. Department of

Education, Office of the Under Secretary, Planning and Evaluation Service, Elementary and Secondary

Education Division, The Same High Standards for Migrant Students: Holding Title I Schools Accountable,

Executive Summary, Washington, D.C., 2002.

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1

The Same HighStandards for Migrant Students:

Holding Title I Schools Accountable

Executive Summary

Introduction

The three-volume study, The Same High Standards for Migrant Students:

Holding Title I Schools Accountable examines how the federal Migrant Education

Program (MEP) is helping migrant students succeed in school and meet academically

challenging standards, and whether states and districts are including migrant students in

standards-based reforms.

The study found that principals and teachers in Title I schools serving migrant

students have lower expectations about how well their students can perform than

teachers in other Title I schools. Fewer seniors in Title I schools with migrant students

have taken higher-level mathematics courses compared with seniors in other schools.

Title I schools with migrant students have higher percentages of inexperienced teachers,

teachers who are teaching in fields for which they are not certified, as well as teachers

who hold emergency or temporary certification. Many of the Title I schools that served

migrant students used different standards for their limited English proficient students. A

significant percentage of migrant students did participate in state or district assessments

in the 1997-1998 school year, but few of these schools received the results of the

assessments disaggregated by migrant status. Some states and school districts are

implementing promising practices to promote continuity of instructional services for

migrant students to respond to the effects caused by changing schools on studentsí

academic performance.

Key Findings: A Summary

• Expectations about student performance were low in Title I schools serving

migrant students. Some principals in Title I elementary schools with medium-tohigh numbers of migrant students reported that standards were too hard for a

significant portion of their students, and that a large percentage of these students were

not prepared to do the work at the next grade level. This finding is similar to National

Longitudinal Survey of Schools (NLSS) findings concerning differences between the

highest-poverty and lower-poverty Title I elementary schools.

• Many of the Title I schools that served migrant students used different standards

for their limited English proficient students. Many migrant students are also

limited English proficient. Over half of the Title I schools with medium-to-high

numbers of migrant students are classified as schools with 25 percent or more limited

English proficient students. Contrary to the requirements of the Title I program,

principals in Title I elementary schools reported that their schools used alternate state
2

content standards and different student performance standards for limited English

proficient students.

• States' knowledge of migrant student participation in assessments was weak.

States reported that they did not have a way to estimate the percentage of migrant

students participating in assessments because the number of students exempted from

assessments is typically a local decision that is often not reported to the state. Based

on national survey data, principals reported that 70 percent of migrant elementary

students and 90 percent of migrant secondary students participated in assessments in

the 1998-1999 school year. Mobility and language difficulties were the two leading

barriers to migrant studentsí participation in statewide assessments.

• Few schools with migrant students received disaggregated achievement scores.

The single greatest barrier to evaluating migrant student achievement data systems is

the lack of capacity that most state and local data systems currently have to link

individual migrant student records with state and district databases. Few states pursue

data on graduation and dropout rates because of the investment of resources involved,

and because they are not legislatively required to do so.

• Fewer students in Title I schools that serve migrant students were enrolled in

higher-level courses. Fewer seniors in Title I schools with medium-to-high numbers

of migrant students had taken higher-level mathematics courses compared with

seniors in other Title I schools.

• Teachers in schools serving migrants were less experienced. Teachers in Title I

elementary schools with medium-to-high numbers of migrant students had fewer

years of teaching experience than teachers in other Title I elementary schools. These

schools also reported that more teachers were teaching in fields for which they were

not certified and held emergency or temporary certification. Many of these

differences were similar to those between highest- and lower-poverty schools.

• Title I schools with migrant students tend to be much poorer, and have high

proportions of students who are minorities and limited English proficient. Many

of the differences between Title I schools with no or few migrant students and schools

with medium-to-high numbers of migrant students parallel the differences between

Title I schools that are relatively lower in poverty and those that are highest-poverty.

• A few states and school districts are committed to aligning local instruction

between programs that share migrant students. In particular, these states and

districts were committed to aligning with the studentsí home base schools for

curricular content and course requirements. Some examples of alignment policies

included the following: LEP students were placed in the same type of English

acquisition program as their home base school; trading partners compared their

individual languages assessments scores to place migrant students in the same types

of course work; and trading partners agreed on common grade placement policies.
3

• Technology is enabling states and districts to access other statesí and districtsí

content and performance standards. The use of technology provided solutions to

the problems of accessing information and providing instruction to difficult-to-reach

students. Technology was used to transfer information on studentsí academic records

between trading partners, provide individualized instruction, and provide access to

another state or districtís assessments and standards.

Background

In recognition of the unique needs of migrant students, the Migrant Education

Program was first authorized in 1966 to provide supplemental instruction and other

support services for migrant children. The program currently operates under Title I, Part

C, of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), as amended in 2002, and

provides formula grants to states to ensure that migrant studentsí needs are met. MEP

funding is in addition to other Title I funds that schools may receive. State education

agencies (SEAs) generally administer services to migrant students provided by schools,

districts, and other organizations. The programís primary purpose is to help migrant

students succeed in school and have the opportunity to meet the same challenging state

content and performance standards that all children are expected to meet.

NLSS provided nationally representative data for the analyses of Volume I, which

were based on surveys of principals and teachers in Title I schools that served migrant

students in the 1998-1999 school year. As such, it is a snapshot in time, one school year

after states were to have developed challenging content and performance standards for all

students.

Schools were classified into Title I schools with no migrant students,

Title I schools with low numbers of migrant students (those with fewer than 15 migrant

students), and Title I schools with medium-to-high numbers of migrant students (those

with 15 or more migrant students). The data are based on principal reports about the

number of migrant students in the school. The samples included 747 schools with no

migrant students, 164 schools with low numbers of migrant students, and 155 schools

with medium-to-high numbers of migrant students. Schools serving low and medium-tohigh numbers of migrant students sometimes were combined into one group, Title I

schools with migrant students.

NLSS collected data over three school years from 1998-1999 to 2000-2001.

School-year 1998-1999 established a baseline of data on how these Title I schools were

implementing the accountability provisions of Title I of the ESEA, as amended, related to

high standards and assessments for all children.

Data for Volume II were collected through interviews with migrant program

directors and data and assessment records specialists at state and local levels during site

visits between October 2000 and January 2001. These were, in descending order by

population: California, Texas, Florida, Washington, Oregon, Kentucky, Kansas, Arizona

and Georgia. These nine states accounted for approximately 70 percent of the nation's

migrant student population in 1998-1999. The director of each stateís migrant education
4

selected districts that were supposed to be around the twenty-fifth percentile in terms of

the size of the migrant student population and also were supposed to be representative or

average in terms of migrant education practices.

Data for Volume III were collected through case studies of district migrant

education programs, chosen on the basis of nominations from state directors. Four

groups of two or three districts that share students who move back and forth between

them were chosen for study (referred to as Trading Partners). A member of the research

team visited each site between June 1998 and December 1998. The researchers

conducted interviews with lay staff; observed service delivery and coordination

mechanisms; and inspected relevant documents, which included available achievement

data.

Volume I, Title I Schools Serving Migrant Students: Recent Evidence from the

National Longitudinal Survey of Schools, addresses two basic questions:

(1) How do Title I schools with high numbers of migrant students compare with

Title I schools with no migrant students in terms of their social, demographic,

and organizational characteristics? and

(2) How are standards-based reforms and the provisions of Title I being

implemented in Title I schools with migrant students compared with Title I

schools with no migrant students?

Volume II, Measurement of Migrant Student Educational Achievement, addresses

five questions:

(1) What assessment and accountability data are collected on migrant student

achievement?

(2) What data are available on migrant student graduation and dropout rates?

(3) What other types of data are routinely collected on migrant student

achievement? Is information collected on postsecondary outcomes?

(4) What is the overall quality of the data on migrant students? and

(5) What steps can states and districts take to improve the quality and availability

of data on migrant student outcomes?

Volume III, Coordinating the Education of Migrant Students: Lessons Learned

from the Field, addresses six questions:

1) What were the conditions that led to discontinuity of education for migrant

students?

2) What were the problems, issues, and concerns at the school site level that

resulted from discontinuity of education?

3) How and why was a particular approach adopted as a strategy to promote

continuity of education?

4) What range of approaches are used in migrant education programs to promote

continuity of education for migrant students, and how are those approaches

implemented?
5

5) What impact have these innovations demonstrated, and what problems or

obstacles were encountered in implementing these approaches?

6) What cross-cutting themes emerged from the study?

Volume I of the study was conducted by Westat and RAND, Volume II was

conducted by the Research Triangle Institute, and Volume III was conducted by the

George Washington Universityís Center for Equity and Excellence in Education, under

contract to the Planning and Evaluation Service of the U.S. Department of Education.

Key Findings: In Detail

High Standards for All Children

The 1994 amendments to the ESEA required states to develop or adopt, by the

beginning of the 1997-98 school year, challenging state content standards in at least

reading or language arts and math. State content standards specify what all children in the

state are expected to know and be able to do. Challenging performance standards show

the level children that will be expected to attain in mastering the material in the content

standards. Whether standards apply statewide or districtwide, all students within that

state or district must be held to the same challenging standards. All students, including

economically disadvantaged students, limited English proficient students, and students

with diverse learning needs are expected to learn the same high-quality content, rather

than a separate curriculum for certain students. Initially, limited English proficient

students may take more time to meet the state's standards because they also must develop

English language proficiency. In such cases, additional benchmarks toward meeting

standards need to be developed to assess limited English proficient students' progress, but

the essential content and performance standards are to apply to all students.

Some principals in Title I schools with medium-to-high numbers of migrant

students reported that ìcontent and performance standards were too rigorousî for

most of their students. In the 1998-1999 school year, principals in Title I schools were

asked about the extent to which content and performance standards were too rigorous for

most of their students. The response options ranged from ìnot at allî to ìa great extent.î

Eleven percent of principals in Title I elementary schools with medium-to-high numbers

of migrant students stated that content standards were, to a great extent, ìtoo rigorousî

for most of their students, compared with only 3 percent of principals in Title I

elementary schools with low numbers of migrant students. These findings are similar to

NLSS findings concerning differences between highest-poverty and lowest-poverty

Title I elementary schools. Fourteen percent of the highest-poverty elementary school

principals reported that such standards were too rigorous for most of their students,

compared with less than 2 percent of the lowest-poverty school principals; even larger

differences exist among secondary schools (30 percent versus less than 1 percent).

Principals perceived that fewer students in Title I schools with medium-tohigh numbers of migrant students were prepared to do work at the next grade level
6

than were students in other Title I schools. All principals in Title I schools were

asked, at the end of the 1997-1998 school year, what percent of their students were

prepared to do work at the next grade level. Principals in Title I schools with medium-tohigh numbers of migrant students reported that about 76 percent of elementary students

and 64 percent of secondary students were prepared to work at the next grade level.

Principals in Title I schools with no migrant students or low numbers of migrant students

believed that 82-84 percent of their students were ready for the next grade.

Figure 1. Principalsí Perceptions about Student Performance, Title I Schools, by

School Level And Migrant Status of School

Figure reads: Principals in Title I elementary schools with no migrant students reported that

81.8 percent of students in these schools were prepared to do work at the next grade level but

96.2 percent of students were promoted to the next grade level.

Source: NLSS Principal Survey, SY1998-1999, Section B, Q. PB9, PB10

Many schools used alternate content standards and different performance

standards for limited English proficient students. Principals in Title I schools were

asked whether their school used alternate content standards that accommodate limited

English proficient students' need to acquire English language skills, and whether they use

different performance standards for these students. Almost 80 percent of the principals in

Title I elementary schools with medium-to-high numbers of migrant students reported

that their school used alternate standards in reading to accommodate limited English

proficient students. Sixty-one percent of the principals in Title I schools with no migrant

students reported using alternate content standards in reading to accommodate limited

English proficient students. Forty-five percent of principals in Title I elementary schools

serving medium-to-high numbers of migrant students reported that they used different

performance standards for limited English proficient students, while 31 percent of

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7

principals in Title I elementary schools with no migrant students reported that they did

so.

Assessments and Accountability for All Children

The 1994 amendments also required states to develop or adopt, by the beginning

of the 2000-2001 school year, high-quality yearly assessments in at least reading or

language arts and math. The assessments are to be aligned with the state's content and

performance standards that determine how well all children are learning. All children

participating in the Title I program must be assessed, including students with disabilities

and limited English proficient students, using the same assessments used by the state or

local education agency to measure the performance of all children. Including migrant

students in state assessments is important to achieve ESEA's goals that all children

achieve to high content and performance standards. Each Title I school and district is

required to demonstrate adequate yearly progress toward helping participating children to

meet the state's challenging performance standards.

States' knowledge of migrant student participation in assessments was weak.

In the 2000-2001 site visits, only two of the nine states visited were able to provide

estimates of the proportion of migrant students participating in state assessments. State

officials reported during the site visits that the lack of standardized methods for

identifying the migrant status of students for assessment purposes increased the

likelihood of errors and erroneous reporting of disaggregated results. Similarly, school

districts and states participating in the site visits had not developed data systems to report

the types of accommodations provided for assessment purposes or the numbers of

students receiving such accommodations. However, in Title I schools with medium-tohigh numbers of migrant students, principals reported that 70 percent of elementary

migrant students and 90 percent of secondary migrant students participated in these

assessments in the 1997-1998 school year. In schools with low numbers of migrant

students, the participation rate was about 60 percent. The main reasons that migrant

students did not participate in the assessments were: lack of English proficiency, lack of

instruments in the student's native language, individualized education program (IEP)

exclusion, and lack of sufficient enrollment time.

Eight of the nine states participating in site visits allowed schools to exempt

students from assessments based on lack of English language proficiency alone, but

were unable to estimate how many migrant students are affected by these policies as none

of the states that allow exemptions kept records. Of the nine states, only California did

not exclude students from assessments for reasons related to language proficiency,

although they allowed a second test to be taken in Spanish. In some states, migrant

personnel were not fully aware of state assessment policies.
8

States and schools participating in the site visits reported that student

mobility and language difficulties were the two leading barriers to migrant students'

participation in statewide assessments. Migrant students travel at different times of the

year, including during testing times, and they may be tested in a state other than their

home state, or they may miss being assessed altogether. Some states serving large

populations of migrant students, such as California and Florida, reported that most of

their students move within the state. While this still creates disruptions in a student's

education, it means that more migrant students can be tested against their home state's

standards. Only one state, Texas, had accommodations that specifically addressed

migrant student mobility. Texas made an agreement with 21 other states to allow Texasbased students to take the exit-level Texas Assessment of Academic Skills (TAAS) exam.

However, many states in the sites visited considered language to be a greater problem for

migrant students than mobility. Limited English proficiency was repeatedly noted as the

largest challenge to migrant student participation in statewide assessments. All nine

states and districts studied reported making some type of accommodation related to

language, including the allowance of secondary assessments in the student's native

language. State personnel interviewed during the site visits felt that using assessments as

part of an accountability system has the potential to provide a strong disincentive for

administrators to make extra efforts to ensure participation by all populations, and might

actually lead school-level staff to discourage migrant students from participating because

of accountability concerns.

Reporting Progress on All Student Groups

States are required to provide state assessment data that are disaggregated for a

variety of student subgroups in all schools and LEAs, if the data are statistically sound

and final assessments are in place. However, states were not required to have final

assessments in place until the 2000-2001 school year. Consequently, when these data

were collected, this requirement was not in place.

Few Title I schools with migrant students received disaggregated

achievement scores. Title I schools with medium-to-high numbers of migrant students

were somewhat more likely to receive assessment results disaggregated by race and

ethnicity, Title I participation, and poverty status, compared with other Title I schools,

and these differences were statistically significant. Still, only one-quarter of Title I

elementary schools with low numbers of migrant students and one-third with medium-tohigh numbers of migrant students received results disaggregated by migrant status. Eight

of the nine states participating in the site visits reported having the ability to disaggregate

assessment results by migrant status, but only five did so on a regular basis. Interviews

with state officials indicated that the lack of data on the number of migrant students not

tested, exempted, or tested with accommodations leaves migrant staff relatively

uninformed about the extent to which these students are included in state assessment

systems.
9

Figure 2. Percentage of Elementary School Principals in Title I Schools Receiving

Assessment Results Summarized by Subgroups of Students, by Migrant Status of

School

Figure reads: 37.7 percent of elementary Title I principals in schools with no migrant students

reported receiving assessment results disaggregated by race and ethnicity; 50.7 percent by

gender; 27 percent by Title I participation; 0 percent by migrant status; 16.8 percent by poverty

status; 55.4 percent by LEP status; and 36.9 percent by students had IEPs.

Source: NLSS Principal Survey, SY1998-1999, Section A, Q.PA26

Notes: Question asked of principals who reported that their school uses a math or reading assessment.

Question regarding migrant status and LEP status were asked only of principals who reported that

their school contains a certain level of the special population (any migrant students or 10 percent

or more LEP students).

The use of separate databases within states often prevented the linking of

migrant students' assessment data with other academic information, such as grades,

attendance, graduation rates, etc., and was the single greatest barrier to evaluating

migrant student achievement more accurately. Site visit reports indicated that few

states pursued data on student achievement and graduation rates because of the

investment of resources involved and because they were not required to do so by the

federal government. According to site visit data, the single practice that plagued the

availability of migrant student data was the storing of assessment data separately from

databases containing migrant information and school information, such as attendance and

graduation data. Data systems within states often were not linked with other parts of

systems that store migrant student information. States reported that they did not have

reliable mechanisms to track students who enroll in another district or take up another

form of education, such as GED classes. The same was true of tracking students after

graduation to collect postsecondary information. Most states were in the process of

large-scale adjustments to their data systems, so the picture may have changed.

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10

Seven of nine states reported during site visits that they had the capability to

produce estimates of graduation rates, and six states would be able to calculate

dropout rates among migrant students. However, most states reported not calculating

such rates, largely because they were not required for federal reporting purposes.

Dropout rates are particularly problematic because migrant students move frequently and

schools are often left unaware of their status.

Title I schools with migrant students appeared to be making greater efforts

to involve parents both at school and at home, compared with Title I schools with no

migrant students. The vast majority of principals in all Title I schools reported sharing

school documents with parents. Principals in schools with migrant students, especially in

Title I schools with medium-to-high numbers of migrant students, were much more likely

to translate school documents into languages other than English for parents with limited

English proficiency. Although each school that receives Title I funds is required to

develop a school-parent compact, not all schools have developed and implemented them.

Compared with principals and teachers in Title I schools with no migrant students,

principals and teachers in schools with migrant students were more likely to report using

school-parent compacts and to report finding them useful in discussing shared

responsibilities among the parents and students.

Curriculum and Teaching

Supporting the achievement of challenging state content standards and

challenging student performance standards for all students requires effective instruction,

good teacher professional development, appropriate materials development, and family

involvement.

The differences between the typical mathematics courses that graduating

seniors have taken were striking. Generally, fewer seniors in Title I schools with

medium-to-high numbers of migrant students have taken higher-level mathematics

courses compared with seniors in other schools. Many of these differences reflect

differences found between high-poverty and low-poverty Title I schools. Over 90

percent of seniors in Title I schools with no or low numbers of migrant students have

taken Algebra 1 compared with less than 60 percent in Title I schools with medium-tohigh numbers of migrant students. Similarly, 60 percent of students in the first group

have taken Algebra 2, while less than 30 percent in Title I schools with medium-to-high

numbers of migrant students have done so.
11

Figure 3. Percentage of Graduating Seniors in Title I High Schools That Have Taken

Selected Courses in Mathematics, by Migrant Status of School

Figure reads: Mathematics chairpersons in Title I high schools with no migrant students

reported that 91.6 percent of graduating seniors have taken Algebra 1; 58.1 percent have taken

Algebra 2; 25.4 percent Trigonometry; 22.3 percent Precalculus; 9.8 percent College Algebra;

and 6.2 percent Non-AP Calculus, prior to graduation.

Source: NLSS Teacher Survey, SY1998-1999, Section B, Q. TB11

Note: Question asked of high school mathematics chairs.

Teachers in schools serving migrants were less experienced. Title I

elementary schools with medium-to-high numbers of migrant students reported higher

percentages of inexperienced teachers than other Title I schools. In addition, Title I

elementary schools with medium-to-high numbers of migrant students reported that more

teachers were teaching in fields for which they were not certified and held emergency or

temporary certification. Many of these differences are similar to the differences found by

poverty status among all Title I schools. For example, principals in the highest-poverty

schools reported that between 15 and 21 percent of their teachers had less than three

years of teaching experience compared with only 8-to-9 percent of low-poverty schools.

Teachers who taught migrant students reported that they would have liked

to receive professional development in instructional strategies to teach migrant

students. Sixty-five to 70 percent of teachers who taught migrant students, in Title I

schools with medium-to-high numbers of migrant students, reported receiving no

professional development in instructional strategies to teach migrant students, although

most of these teachers (60 percent of elementary teachers and 84 percent of secondary

teachers) reported that they would have liked professional development in this area.

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12

Figure 4. Percentage of Teachers in Title I Schools Reporting They Would Have

Liked Professional Development in Instructional Strategies to Teach Migrant

Students, by Migrant Status of School

Figure reads: Among teachers of migrant students who wanted additional professional

development, 63.1 percent of teachers in Title I schools with low numbers of migrant students

reported they would have liked professional development in instructional strategies to teach

migrant students.

Source: NLSS Teacher Survey, SY1998-1999, Section D, Q. TD5

Teachers lack of knowledge about how to integrate technology into the

curriculum was a major barrier in using technology for instructional purposes.

Over 70 percent of all Title I schools reported that this was a major barrier. Other

significant barriers were lack of software that is integrated with the school's curriculum

and insufficient equipment, especially for schools serving migrant students. Principals in

secondary schools with migrant students were especially likely to report barriers to using

technology for instructional purposes.

Although all Title I schools used teacher aides, the proportion that funded

them through Title I was higher in Title I schools with medium-to-high numbers of

migrant students compared with Title I schools with no migrant students. In

addition, Title I schools with migrant students were more likely to be located in districts

offering career ladders and other educational supports to paraprofessionals.

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13

Profile of Title I Schools Serving Migrant Students

Many of the differences between Title I schools with no or low numbers of

migrant students and Title I schools with medium-to-high numbers of migrant

students were similar to differences found by poverty status of all Title I schools. A

majority of schools with migrant status are high-poverty schools, and differences reported

here cannot be solely attributed to the migrant status of the school. Sample sizes did not

permit analysis of the degree to which poverty and migrant status contribute

independently to the differences reported here.

Title I schools with migrant students tend to be much poorer than Title I

schools with no migrant students. High-poverty schools are defined as schools with 50

percent or more of their students eligible for free or reduced-price lunches. Threequarters of Title I schools with medium-to-high numbers of migrant students and twothirds of Title I schools with low numbers of migrant students are high-poverty schools,

compared with less than half (46 percent) of Title I schools with no migrant students.

Overall, 87 percent of migrant students were enrolled in high-poverty schools.

Figure 5. Distribution of Title I Schools Categorized by Migrant Status of School, and

Percentage of Poor and Minority Students

Figure reads: 54 percent of Title I schools with no migrant students have between 0-49.9

percent of students eligible for free or reduced-price lunches compared with 34 percent of

Title I schools with low numbers of migrant students and 25 percent of Title I schools with

medium/high numbers of migrant students.

Source: NLSS Principal Survey, SY1998-1999, Section Principal Screener, Q. PSC3 and Common

Core of Data, 1997-98

Title I schools with migrant students also tend to be high-minority schools.

High minority schools are schools that serve 50 percent or more minority students. Twothirds of Title I schools with medium-to-high numbers of migrant students are high46

25

66 67

25

67

75

54

33

34

33

75

0

20

40

60

80

100

0-49.9% 50-100% 0-49.9% 50-100%

Percentage of Schools

Schools with no migrant students

Schools with low numbers of migrant students

Schools with medium/high numbers of migrant students

Poverty Status Percentage Minority Students

46

25

66 67

25

67

75

54

33

34

33

75

0

20

40

60

80

100

0-49.9% 50-100% 0-49.9% 50-100%

Percentage of Schools

Schools with no migrant students

Schools with low numbers of migrant students

Schools with medium/high numbers of migrant students

Poverty Status Percentage Minority Students
14

minority schools, compared with one-quarter of Title I schools with no migrant students.

About 61 percent of Title I schools with medium-to-high numbers of migrant students are

both high-poverty and high-minority schools.

Many migrant students were also limited English proficient (LEP). Just over

half (51 percent) of the Title I schools with medium-to-high numbers of migrant students

are classified as schools with 25 percent of more limited English proficient students,

compared with 12 percent of the Title I schools with low numbers of migrant students

and 7 percent of the Title I schools with no migrant students.

A significant percentage of high-poverty Title I schools serving medium-tohigh numbers of migrant students have not availed themselves of the schoolwide

option and continue to offer targeted assistance to their Title I students. Under the

1994 reauthorization of Title I, schools could adopt schoolwide programs if 50 percent or

more of their students were eligible for free or reduced-price lunches. Schoolwide

programs allow Title I funds to be used on comprehensive programs that benefit all

students in the school, not just children identified for Title I services. Fifty-seven percent

of Title I schools with medium-to-high numbers of migrant students operated schoolwide

programs in school year 1998-1999. Among Title I schools with medium-to-high

numbers of migrant students and at the 50-to-100 percent poverty level, 32 percent were

operating targeted assistance programs.

Certain conditions led to educational discontinuity for migrant students.

Differences in school curriculum requirements and instructional methods between

districts and schools sharing migrant students led to instructional discontinuity and credit

accrual problems for secondary migrant students. However, states and districts that are

implementing information systems and aligning policies are helping to promote the

continuity of education for migrant students.

Summary

The U.S. Department of Education's Planning and Evaluation Service sponsored

these three studies to examine whether states and schools are including migrant students

in their assessment and accountability systems. The results were mixed.

Title I schools that serve migrant students are high-poverty, high-minority

schools. These same schools have higher percentages of inexperienced teachers, teachers

who are teaching in fields for which they are not certified, as well as teachers who hold

emergency or temporary certification. A significant number of teachers who taught

migrant students received no professional development in instructional strategies to teach

these students, although most of these teachers reported that they would have liked

professional development in this area. Principals and teachers in Title I schools serving

migrant students tend to have lower expectations about how well their students can

perform than teachers in other Title I schools. Generally, fewer seniors in Title I schools

with migrant students have taken higher-level mathematics courses compared with

seniors in other schools.
15

Many of the Title I schools that served migrant students used alternate content

standards and different performance standards for their limited English proficient

students. Eight of the nine states participating in site visits allowed schools to exempt

students from assessments based on lack of English language proficiency alone. This

finding is contrary to the Title I requirements that all students should be held to the

same standards and participate in the same assessments.

However, survey data indicated that a significant percentage of migrant students

participated in state or district assessments in the 1997-1998 school year, but very few of

these schools received the results of the assessments disaggregated by migrant status.

During the 2000-2001 site visits, most states reported that while estimates are not

regularly calculated on the percentage of eligible migrant students actually participating

in such assessments, they are able to disaggregate their data and compare migrant student

performance to that of all students or to non migrant students. States appear to be making

progress in this area.

Significantly less data are available to measure any other type of academic

outcome, including graduation, dropout, and postsecondary information, and there are

significant concerns about including all migrant students in these statistics. In general,

larger states are more likely than smaller states to have the systems that would allow

them to produce more achievement data. States vary in their ability to gather and

evaluate migrant student data. None of the states participating in the site visits funds a

full-time migrant staff position dedicated to reviewing migrant data and evaluating

program effectiveness and migrant student academic achievement.

The lack of data on the number of migrant students not tested, exempted, or tested

with accommodations leaves migrant staff relatively uninformed about the extent to

which these students are included in state assessment systems. The use of separate

databases within states often prevents linking migrant studentsí assessment data with

other academic information, such as grades, attendance, graduation rates, and other

outcome indicators, and is the single greatest barrier to evaluating migrant student

achievement more accurately.

Despite the many challenges facing states, and districts, and schools to provide a

high-quality education to migrant students, the districts identified in ìCoordinating the

Education of Migrant Students: Lessons Learned from the Field,î demonstrate promising

practices used by districts to promote continuity of instructional service for migrant

students. The study entailed case studies of district migrant education programs, chosen

on the basis of nominations from state directors. Four groups of two or three districts that

share students who move back and forth between them were chosen for study (referred to

as Trading Partners). Examples of promising practices used in these districts include:

• The districts implemented information systems including the Texas Migrant

Interstate Project, the New Generation System, the Red Bag Transfer Packet

System, and an e-mail system to improve student information exchange and
16

access. These systems relied on a combination of information technologies and

technical assistance and staff support.

• To promote secondary credit accrual, particular staff members were charged with

communicating with other districts to determine appropriate courses for credit

accrual purposes, calculating and awarding partial credit, and following up on

attendance data, grades and credit accrual information sent to other districts.

• Two basic strategies were used in developing supplemental educational

opportunities. The first strategy entails flexible courses of study that assist

secondary students to accelerate course completion or to finish incomplete

courses. The newest versions of these courses use technology (e.g. desktop

computer labs, portable laptop computers, and satellite technology) to deliver

instruction. The second strategy provided migrant students with additional

instructional time, either in the summer, in the evening, or during the school day.