Meanwhile, in nearby Vista, Spanish-speaking students were allowed to waive out of English immersion and continue with bilingual instruction. Two years later, students in Ocean-side are scoring higher on standardized tests than their counterparts in Vista. The Oceanside school superintendent, who was among those who predicted a catatastrophe if Proposition 227 passed, now says he was wrong. The exact reverse occurred, totally unexpected by me. It's too early to declare that these results mean bilingual education doesn't work as well as English immersion.
Situations vary from city to city.
During the same time period, class-size reduction programs made an impact, and phonics replaced whole language as the preferred method for reading instruction. Still, the Oceanside experience provides reason for school boards, teachers, families and students to revisit old assumptions about how kids learn.