A Descriptive Analysis of Enrollment and Achievement among English Language Learner Students in the District of Columbia. Summary. Issues &amp; Answers. REL 2012-No. 131
Author: O'Conner, Rosemarie
Date: 2012-04-00
Type: Reports - Evaluative
Subjects: Achievement Gap,Public Schools,Speech Communication,Enrollment,Academic Achievement,English Language Learners,Enrollment Trends,Accountability,Federal Legislation,Mathematics Achievement,Reading Achievement

This study describes English language learner (ELL) student enrollment trends between 2002/03 and 2008/09 and achievement trends between 2006/07 and 2008/09 in the District of Columbia. Two research questions guide this study: (1) How did the enrollment of ELL students in District of Columbia public schools change between 2002/03 and 2008/09?; and (2) How did performance (the percentage scoring at the proficient or advanced level) on district assessments in reading and math in grades 3-8 and 10 compare between ELL and non-ELL students in District of Columbia public schools from 2006/07 to 2008/09? The study's main findings on enrollment trends include: (1) From 2002/03 to 2008/09, ELL student enrollment in District of Columbia public schools increased 1.8 percent, while total enrollment decreased 6.3 percent. ELL student enrollment increased from 7.7 percent of total enrollment in 2002/03 to 8.4 percent in 2008/09; (2) From 2005/06 to 2008/09, Spanish speakers accounted for the largest percentage of ELL students, peaking at 74.9 percent in 2005/06. In 2008/09, Spanish (spoken by 60.4 percent of ELL students in the district) had the most speakers, followed by Amharic (2.4 percent), Chinese (2.2 percent), French (1.9 percent), and Vietnamese (1.7 percent). ELL students speaking &quot;other&quot; languages (languages other than the five most common in the district) accounted for 31.5 percent of ELL students in 2008/09; and (3) From 2005/06 to 2008/09, the number and percentage of ELL students speaking Amharic, French, and &quot;other&quot; languages increased, whereas the number and percentage of ELL students speaking Spanish, Chinese, and Vietnamese decreased. The study's main findings on achievement trends include: (1) Between 2006/07 and 2008/09, ELL students' performance in reading increased 1.9-20.5 percentage points in all grades studied (grades 3-8 and 10); (2) Between 2006/07 and 2008/09, ELL students' performance in math increased 14.8-24.0 percentage points in all grades studied (grades 3-8 and 10); (3) ELL students' performance in grade 3 reading was higher than that of non-ELL students in every year studied. ELL students' performance in grade 4 reading was higher than that of non-ELL students in 2006/07. Non-ELL students' performance in grade 4 reading was higher than that of ELL students in 2007/08 and 2008/09, but the achievement gap did not exceed 0.25 percentage point. From 2006/07 to 2008/09, the achievement gap in reading between ELL and non-ELL students widened in grade 8, narrowed in grades 7 and 10, closed in grade 5, and reversed in grade 6 (with ELL students' performance higher than that of non-ELL students); and (4) ELL students' performance in math was higher than that of non-ELL students in grades 3 and 4 in every year studied. From 2006/07 to 2008/09, the achievement gap in math between ELL and non-ELL students narrowed in grade 7 and reversed in grades 5, 6, 8, and 10. By 2008/09, ELL students' performance in math was higher than that of non-ELL students in all grades studied except grade 7. (Contains 3 notes.) [For the full report, &quot;A Descriptive Analysis of Enrollment and Achievement among English Language Learner Students in the District of Columbia. Issues &amp; Answers. REL 2012-No. 131,&quot; see ED531431.]