English Language Acquisition Grants Under the No Child Left Behind Act: Analysis of State Grant Formula and Data Options
Released: 2007-06-29T00:00:00

The number of limited English proficient (LEP) students enrolled in K-12 education increased by 60.8% from the 1994-1995 school year to the 2004-2005 school year; total student enrollment increased by 2.6% over the same time period. Given this tremendous growth in the LEP student population and the likelihood that the 110 th Congress will consider legislation to reauthorize the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA), as amended by the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLBA; P.L. 107-110 ), this report examines the formula used to provide grants to states under the English Language Acquisition program, authorized by Title III of the ESEA. This program provides grants to states to help ensure that LEP and recent immigrant students attain proficiency in English. Much of the debate surrounding the reauthorization of this program has focused on the data used to determine how many LEP and immigrant students are in each state, as these data are the basis upon which grants are determined.

This report begins with a general overview of the English Language Acquisition program, focusing specifically on the state grant formula. This is followed by a detailed analysis of the American Community Survey (ACS) data currently used by the U.S. Department of Education (ED) to calculate these grants, as well as state-reported data that could potentially be used to calculate these grants. The third section of the report compares student counts based on ACS data and state data and examines differences in estimated FY2007 state grants if state data were used as the basis for determining the awards. The report concludes with an examination of some of the drawbacks of using either the ACS or state-reported data for determining state grants and other possible alternative strategies for calculating state grants.

English Language Acquisition State Grants

Title III, Part A of the ESEA authorizes formula grants to states to ensure that limited English proficient (LEP) students and immigrant children develop English proficiency. Prior to determining state grant allocations, statutory language provides for several reservations of funds. These include reservations for national activities, for schools serving Native American and Alaska Native students, and for the outlying areas. After reserving the required funds, grants to the 50 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico are determined based on the state's proportional share of LEP students and immigrant students relative to the U.S. population of LEP students and immigrant students. These shares are then weighted, with a higher weight (0.8) being assigned to the state's population of LEP students and a lower weight (0.2) being assigned to the state's population of recent immigrant students. No state can receive a grant less than $500,000. The grant to Puerto Rico cannot exceed 0.5% of the total available for state distribution.

Data Availability

In determining the number of LEP and immigrant students in an individual state and in the United States, statutory language directs ED to use "the more accurate" of (1) data available from the American Community Survey (ACS), or (2) the number of children being assessed for English proficiency as required under Title I of the ESEA. In practice, ED has been using the ACS data to make state allocations since FY2005. Title III grants for a specific fiscal year have been based on ACS data from two years prior. For example, FY2007 grants are based on the 2005 ACS data. According to testimony provided by Cornelia Ashby, Director of Education, Workforce, and Income Security Issues at the Government Accountability Office (GAO), ED has not used state data because it believes the state data are incomplete. For example, ED noted that for the 2004-2005 school year, not every state provided data, and some data included only partial student counts.

American Community Survey Data

ED obtains the relevant ACS data from the U.S. Census Bureau. The LEP student count is based on the population aged 5 to 21 who reported speaking a language other than English at home and speaking English less than "very well." The number of immigrant students is based on the number of individuals aged 3 to 21 who reported entering the United States during the two years prior to the survey or during the survey year. For example, for the 2005 ACS, individuals entering the country in 2003 or later were counted as recent immigrant students. According to GAO, these questions were developed for the 1980 census to "obtain information needed about current language use and limited English language proficiency as a result of legislation such as the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Bilingual Education Act, and the Voting Rights Act." These questions have not been modified since their inception. Thus, they were not designed specifically for Title III purposes.

Tables 1 and 2 provide the ACS counts for LEP and immigrant students, respectively, used by ED in determining state grant amounts for FY2005, FY2006, and FY2007. Few states had relatively stable LEP student counts from 2002 to 2003 and 2003 to 2004 ( Table 1 ). It was more common for states to experience substantial increases or decreases in their number or percentage of LEP students across the various ACS administrations. For example, the number of LEP students in Arizona declined by over 16,000 students from 2002 to 2003 but increased by nearly 21,000 students from 2004 to 2005, while the number of LEP students in Texas decreased by almost 58,000 students from 2002 to 2003 and increased by almost 25,000 students from 2003 to 2004. In other states, the change in the estimated number of LEP students may have been relatively small, but because some states serve small numbers of LEP students, changes in their student counts can result in large percentage changes. For example, the number of LEP students in Arkansas increased by about 8,000 students from 2002 to 2003 and decreased by about 5,000 students from 2003 to 2004, resulting in percentage changes in student counts of 59.9% and 21.6%, respectively. Although the number of immigrant students identified through the ACS is smaller then the number of LEP students, similar patterns were found in the immigrant student counts across years ( Table 2 ).

State-Reported LEP Student Counts

There are several potential sources of state-reported data and three types of state LEP student counts: (1) total number of LEP students, (2) number of LEP students receiving services (Title III or non-Title III), and (3) number of LEP students being served in Title III. The National Clearinghouse for English Language Acquisition and Language Instruction Educational Programs (NCELA) uses data provided by states to ED in their Consolidated State Performance Reports (CSPRs) to produce an annual state-by-state count of the number of LEP students enrolled. The CSPRs collect data on the total number of students identified as LEP. The most recent data available are for the 2004-2005 school year. Missing data and data discrepancies were resolved by NCELA through telephone calls to the relevant states.

The Common Core of Data (CCD) collects data on the total number of students receiving LEP services. This is not limited to Title III services only. Rather, it includes students served in appropriate programs of language assistance. This is somewhat different than the data available from NCELA, as the CCD count does not include students who are identified as LEP but are not receiving services. The most recent data available from the CCD are for the 2004-2005 school year.

A third source of data is the biennial report on Title III performance. The first report was published by ED in 2005 and covered 2002-2004. It included data on the number of LEP students served in Title III programs during the 2002-2003 and 2003-2004 school years. It did not, however, report on the total number of LEP students in the state or the total number of LEP students receiving Title III and non-Title III services. According to staff at NCELA, the second biennial report, expected later this year, will include counts of both the number of LEP students served in Title III programs and the total number of LEP students in the state. They also indicated that much of the data included in the forthcoming second biennial report has been drawn from the annual CSPRs.

LEP student counts from the NCELA data and CCD data are compared for the 2002-2003, 2003-2004, and 2004-2005 school years ( Table 3 ). The NCELA data produced using the CSPRs are more complete than the data available from the CCD, as state data are missing for several states in the CCD data. As the NCELA LEP student count is, in theory, a more comprehensive count than the CCD LEP student count, it would be expected that the NCELA counts would be higher than the CCD counts but not substantially higher, as it is not expected that many parents would choose for their children not to receive services. The data on Table 3 do not consistently support these theories. For example, for the 2004-2005 school year, the NCELA count is actually lower than the CCD count in 18 states. For Indiana, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Vermont, and West Virginia, the NCELA count is at least 20% lower than the CCD count. Although it was expected that the NCELA count might be somewhat higher than the CCD count, in Florida, Mississippi, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Vermont, and Wisconsin, the NCELA count is at least 20% higher than the CCD count. Similar issues exist with the data from the 2002-2003 and 2003-2004 school years. It is the exception, rather than the rule, that the NCELA data and the CCD data match or differ by a relatively small number of students. In addition, differences between the NCELA data and the CCD data change for some states from year to year with the NCELA count being higher in some years, the CCD count being higher in other years, and the magnitude of the differences between the counts changing from year to year. This raises questions about how states are conducting LEP student counts, whether these counts are being conducted consistently within a state and from year to year, and which students are actually being included in the counts.

Although not shown in Table 3 , data from the NCELA and CCD from 2003-2004 were compared with data reported in the biennial report for 2003-2004. As previously discussed, the NCELA data, in theory, provide the most comprehensive count of LEP students, including all identified LEP students. The CCD data, in theory, provide the second most comprehensive count of LEP students by including all students receiving LEP services. The biennial report data, in theory, are the least comprehensive of the three sources of data as they include only the number of LEP students receiving Title III services. A brief examination of data for Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, and California revealed that the biennial LEP student count was higher than the CCD count in Alabama and Arizona. It was also higher than the NCELA count in Arizona. This raises further questions about how LEP students are being counted at the state level and whether state counts are a reliable basis upon which to make state grant allocations.

State-Reported Immigrant Student Counts

Data sources for immigrant student counts are more limited than those available for LEP students. The primary source of this information is the Title III biennial report. States are required to report on the number of immigrant students enrolled and the number of immigrant students served in Title III programs. The most recent biennial report includes these counts for the 2002-2003 and 2003-2004 school years. Neither NCELA nor the CCD produces immigrant student counts. Table 4 provides the immigrant student counts from the biennial report for the 2002-2003 and 2003-2004 school years, the most recent years for which data are available.

ACS Data Compared with State-Reported Data

This section makes direct comparisons between the most recent ACS data and the most recent state data. It begins with a discussion of data limitations in making these comparisons. This discussion is followed by a detailed analysis of differences in LEP and immigrant student counts between the two types of data. The section concludes with an analysis of estimated FY2007 state grants using both data sources and how these grants would differ based on the underlying data used for the calculation.

Data Limitations

It should be noted that comparisons of student counts have been conducted with state data from two different school years. As the LEP student count accounts for 80% of a state's total grant amount, it was important to have the most recent data available and, if possible, to be using a school year comparable to the year in which the ACS data were collected. The LEP student counts produced by NCELA for the 2004-2005 school year met both these criteria. And, unlike the CCD data for the same school year, they presumably include a more nearly complete count of total LEP student enrollment, as the data were confirmed with state officials as needed. Although one of the primary purposes of this request was to compare the ACS data with state data, it should be noted that the NCELA and ACS data are collected from different respondents using different questions. Again, the NCELA data include the population of students identified as LEP, while the ACS is a sample survey conducted with native and non-native English speaking individuals.

As previously mentioned, data sources for immigrant student counts are more limited, so the latest available data were from the 2003-2004 school year. Thus, in addition to the aforementioned problems of collecting data from different respondents using different questions, the state-reported immigrant data were taken from a different year than the 2005 ACS data.

These caveats must be taken into account when examining student counts and estimated state grants based on these data. The estimated grant amounts discussed below are only rough estimates of what states might receive if state data were relied upon to make grants.

Student Count Data Comparisons

As shown in Tables 5 and 6 , there are some substantial differences in LEP and immigrant student counts when the 2005 ACS data are compared with the 2004-2005 LEP student counts available from NCELA and the 2003-2004 immigrant student counts available from the biennial report. With respect to LEP student counts, for example, the state data indicate that there are almost 500,000 more LEP students in California than indicated by the ACS data. Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Nevada, New Mexico, Texas, and Utah each reported at least 25,000 more LEP students than accounted for by the 2005 ACS. At the same time, if state LEP student counts were used instead of ACS LEP student counts, Georgia, New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania would have their student counts reduced by 25,000 students or more. If the same data are examined based on the percentage change in student counts if state data were used instead of ACS data, Alaska would experience the largest percentage increase in LEP students (376.7%), followed by Montana (216.3%), North Dakota (179.4%), Utah (167.5%), and New Mexico (146.2%). Although California would experience the largest increase in the number of LEP students, this change would result in a 45.1% increase in LEP student enrollment. West Virginia would experience the largest percentage decrease in enrollment (62.0%), followed by Mississippi (47.2%), Ohio (46.8%), and Pennsylvania (46.3%).

If state data were used in lieu of ACS data for immigrant counts, Florida would experience the largest increase in the number of immigrant students, followed by New York, Illinois, and California ( Table 6 ). Overall, increases in immigrant student counts would range from 16 students in Arkansas to 64,633 students in Florida. The largest decreases in the number of immigrant students would occur in Texas, followed by Maryland and Michigan. Overall, decreases in the number of immigrant students would range from 12 students in Pennsylvania to 14,100 students in Texas. In terms of percentage change in student counts, the largest increase in immigrant students would occur in North Dakota (143.1%), followed by Utah (131.4%) and Illinois (82.5%). The greatest decreases would be experienced by Wyoming (82.4%), followed by Idaho (71.3%) and Mississippi (51.2%).

Estimated FY2007 State Grants

An analysis of the differences in estimated FY2007 grant amounts if the aforementioned state data, rather than the 2005 ACS data, were used to determine grant amounts revealed that grant amounts would change in most states, in some cases increasing or decreasing by substantial amounts. For example, if state data, rather than ACS data, had been used to calculate the FY2007 grant amounts, California's grant amount would have increased by $34.2 million or 20.2% ( Table 7 ). Other states that would have experienced substantial increases in their FY2007 grant amounts include Florida ($7.8 million or 19.2%), Utah ($4.4 million or 123.7%), and New Mexico ($4.3 million or 100.2%). One interesting trend to note is the general reduction in state grant amounts that would occur in Northeast states (e.g., Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, and Rhode Island), if state data were used to calculate grant amounts. Overall, increases would have ranged from $20,000 in South Dakota to $34.2 million in California. The largest loss of funds would have been experienced by New York ($10.9 million or 24.3%), followed by New Jersey ($7.0 million or 38.5%), Georgia ($5.7 million or 37.5%), and Pennsylvania ($5.4 million or 47.2%). Overall, the decreases would have ranged from $12,000 in Kansas to $10.9 million in New York. With respect to the percentage change in grant amount, Alaska would have received the largest increase (262.1%), and Mississippi would have experienced the largest decrease (55.2%).

Selecting Data on Which To Base the Distribution of Funds

The use of either the ACS or state data for calculating Title III state grants has drawbacks. This section examines the methodological issues associated with using either the ACS data or state data as the basis for distributing state grants. It also examines issues specific to counting LEP students and counting recent immigrant students. The section concludes with a brief discussion of the requirement that ED use the most accurate of these data sources to allocate state grants.

ACS Data

As previously discussed, the ACS data measure factors that are not necessarily related to student enrollment, and there may be data problems due to the subjective nature of the questions and the reliance on self-reported data. For example, respondents to the ACS may not want to report that they speak English less than "very well," as this may be perceived as a socially undesirable response. Although these problems are consistent across states, the Census Bureau found some inconsistency in responses to these questions during its reinterview process to examine data quality. In addition, there is no research available that demonstrates how accurately the ACS data represent the population of LEP students. If these data continue to be used as the basis for distributing state grants, developing a better understanding of this relationship may be critical.

The estimates of the number of students who are recent immigrants are also based on self-reported data. However, the question used to make this determination is more objective than the question used to determine whether a student is LEP, as it asks for factual information. Thus, responses to this question may be more consistent than the questions used to determine LEP.

State-Reported Data

State-reported data also have several problems that could complicate their use as the basis for determining state grants. In responding to a GAO study examining the Title III formula, ED indicated that state data were missing or incomplete for several states. ED also noted that states did not necessarily assess all LEP students, which could result in the number of students identified as being LEP exceeding the number of students assessed annually for English language proficiency (as required by Title I of the ESEA). In addition, ED noted that states may have provided inconsistent data because the instructions to states for providing this information did not include definitions of the data to be included. GAO found that the aforementioned instructions were sufficiently vague as to allow multiple interpretations of the instructions, and reported that ED had indicated that it would clarify the instructions for the 2006-2007 Consolidated State Performance Report (due in December 2007). ED was also in the process of providing feedback to states on the data provided on the 2003-2004 and 2004-2005 CSPRs and expected that this would lead to improved state data for subsequent school years. Until these data are reported by states, however, it is not possible to know how complete these data will be and whether additional followup, such as the efforts conducted by NCELA regarding the 2004-2005 data, will be needed to produce final counts that could be used as the basis for determining state grants.

These issues are further complicated due to the different methodologies used to identify which students are LEP students, as there is no standard methodology by which students with limited English proficiency are identified. Screening instruments used to identify LEP students vary by state and even within states. Even among states using similar methods, the states may differ in their interpretation of the results. States may also differ in how they determine which students to screen for LEP. Although most states use home language surveys to determine what language is spoken at home, some states may also use strategies such as classroom observations to identify students for screening.

There are also problems with immigrant student counts reported by states. GAO found that state officials question the reliability of the data they collect, as schools and school districts may not be permitted to ask students directly whether they are immigrant students. Rather, some states and districts rely on information about a student's place of birth and date of entry into the school system to determine whether a student is a recent immigrant. These determinations may be further complicated if a student has no prior school documentation, so there is no way to determine based on student records whether the student previously attended another school in the United States and for how long.

It should be noted, however, that if grants are determined on the basis of state-reported data, possibly through the CSPRs, a perverse incentive may be created for states to over-report the number of LEP and immigrant students to gain additional federal funds. As the funds available for this program are limited to a specific appropriation amount, if some states inflate their number of eligible students, other states legitimately serving Title III eligible students may receive less funding than they should receive.

Data Accuracy

Although statutory language permits ED to choose the most accurate of the ACS or state data, ED told GAO that is has not yet established criteria or a methodology for determining which of these data sources is the most accurate. According to the GAO report, "Education officials state that as the state data improve and become complete, complex analysis will be needed to determine the relative accuracy of these data and the ACS data." Thus, until this analysis is completed by ED or another organization, it may be difficult to determine whether the use of ACS data or state data will result in a grant distribution that most accurately reflects the number of LEP and recent immigrant students by state.

Possible Alternatives

Given the drawbacks in using either the ACS or state-reported data as the basis for determining state grants, other alternatives could be considered. As previously mentioned, no research demonstrates that the ACS data accurately reflect the actual LEP student population. One option may be to require the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) to conduct a study to examine the methodology used to produce the ACS data on which Title III state grants are currently based, the availability of alternative indicators, and the reliability of the data. NAS was required to conduct a similar study of the Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates (SAIPE) data used for Title I purposes (Improving America's Schools Act, P.L. 103-382 , Title I, Section 1124(c)(4)). In addition or alternatively, developing a formula based on both the ACS data and the state-reported data could be considered, possibly averaging the student counts from each. This strategy could be used on a long-term basis or as a means of transitioning from the use of ACS data to state data to determine state grants. Using both types of data simultaneously, however, would require state data and ACS data to be available from comparable years. A third alternative, specifically designed to reduce the volatility of the ACS data, would be to average the LEP student counts produced by the ACS for the last two or three available years, and do the same for the ACS immigrant student counts.