Even students who took the tests in Spanish had lower scores. Because few schools offer bilingual classes in languages other than Spanish, students who speak other languages take their CSAPs in English. Their scores were also higher than the scores of Spanish bilingual program students. The National Education Association s position is that all children should have equal education opportunities. Although the NEA doesn t say that bilingual programs are the only way to accomplish this, most of the country s eggs are in bilingual baskets.
Test scores say no.
California is trying the structured English immersion course. Students are immersed in English but are given some support in their own language. It s too soon to tell if California s system is working. A few educators advocate total English immersion, which leaves children to learn English essentially on their own. Many businesses use similar methods to teach their international workers to function in an English-speaking environment.