The second reason it is difficult to answer the bbroad question concerning the effectiveness of bilingual education is that even in well designed programs there is wide variation in the priorities assigned to various goals and objectives. I suspect there is as much variation among forms of bilingual education as there is between bilingual education and monolingual instruction. Programs for Haitian students in Florida, Chaldean children in Detroit, or Navajo children in the Four Corners may differ substantially not only in design but also in outcomes. It is important, therefore, to assess programs of bilingual instruction based on their own goals and objectives rather than on some bureaucratic or presumed goal such as the rate of acquisition of English. It is advisable, therefore, to be cautious when comparing such programs.
Bilingual education is a concept.
At best it is an approach to teaching. Like all concepts it is open to interpretation between and among communities and schools. There can be wide variations between one place and another or one language and another. In an age of site-based decision making and greater community participation in the operation of schools we should expect schools and programs to be as diverse as the communities they serve. In the national frenzy to assess, compare, evaluate, quantify, and hold accountable, we must remind ourselves that American schools are not in lockstep.