Pathways: 1) Dual Immersion; 2) Biliteracy; 3) Newcomer; and 4) English Plus.
Pathway descriptions are available through the Educational Placement Center ...
Results from the SFUSD-Stanford English Learner Pathway Study SFUSD ENGLISH LEARNER PATHWAYS For students who are English Learners (ELs), San Francisco Unified School District (SFUSD) offers four different Instructional Pathways: 1) Dual Immersion; 2) Biliteracy; 3) Newcomer; and 4) English Plus. Pathway descriptions are available through the Educational Placement Center (http://www.sfusd.edu/en/enroll-in-sfusd-schools/how-to-find-a-school.html). SFUSD has been collaborating with researchers from Stanford University to better understand how students learning English do in each of the Pathways SFUSD offers. This handout is designed to share those research findings with EL families in order to help parents/guardians make informed decisions about instructional programs for their children to attend. SCOPE AND AREA OF STUDY The study included approximately 18,000 EL students who entered kindergarten in SFUSD from 2002-2010, including 12,000 in English Plus, 4,000 in Bilingual Maintenance, and 2,000 in Dual Immersion. The graphs below compare the outcomes of students in these three Pathways from 2004-2012. Too few kindergarten ELs were enrolled in the Newcomer Pathway to be included in the study. The Biliteracy Pathway did not exist prior to 2010. Its closest match from this study is the Bilingual Maintenance Pathway, which was modified and renamed the Biliteracy Pathway after 2010.
Percentage of EL Kindergarten Entrants Reaching English Proficiency (on the CELDT), by EL Pathway Nearly all ELs reach English proficiency by the end of middle school, regardless of EL Pathway. Progress is more rapid initially in the English Plus Pathway, but slightly higher by eighth grade in the Dual Immersion and Bilingual Maintenance Pathways. This figure (left) displays the percentage of ELs reaching English proficiency on the California English Language Development Test (CELDT) by each grade from 2nd through 8th. An EL reaches English proficiency when he or she receives an overall score of 4 or 5 on the CELDT with subscores of 3 or above. Nearly all ELs acquire English proficiency regardless of their EL Pathway. In elementary school, ELs progress more rapidly toward English proficiency in the English Plus program. By the end of middle school, however, slightly more ELs in the Dual Immersion and Bilingual Maintenance Pathways are English proficient.
Percentage of EL Kindergarten Entrants Reclassified, by EL Pathway Reclassification rates are higher in elementary and middle school in the English Plus Pathway. In high school reclassification rates in Dual Immersion and Bilingual Maintenance catch up. This figure (right) displays the percentage of ELs who are reclassified by each grade from 2nd through 11th grade. To be reclassified, students in SFUSD must reach proficiency on the CELDT and a score of ‘mid-basic’ (325) on the California Standards Test – English Language Arts (CST-ELA). They must also be evaluated by their teacher, and have their parent/guardian notified. SFUSD’s goal is to reclassify students within 6 years of entering the school district. Reclassification rates are highest in the English Plus Pathway in elementary and middle school. The differences between the Pathways narrow in middle school and disappear in high school. (Note that the reclassification rates in the Bilingual Maintenance and Dual Immersion Programs are indistinguishable in the figure.)
Results from the SFUSD-Stanford English Learner Pathway Study (page 2) Average English Language Arts (ELA) Achievement Trajectories, Compared to the State Average: EL Kindergarten Entrants, by EL Pathway On average, the ELA scores of English Learners (ELs) in the Dual Immersion Pathway increase faster than those of ELs in the other Pathways.
Initial EL Pathway English Plus
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This figure (left) describes the average pattern of ELA scores on the California Standards Test (CST) among ELs from 2nd through 8th grade. Test scores here are compared to the scores of the average California student (which is indicated by the horizontal line at zero). Points above the zero line indicate that students in that Pathway score above the state average in that grade. An upward-sloping line indicates that the scores of students in that Pathway increase faster than those of the average student in the state.
Standardized ELA Score (State Average = 0)
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The ELA test scores of ELs enrolled in the Dual Immersion Pathway increase much faster from 2nd through 8th grade than those of students enrolled in English Plus or Bilingual Maintenance Pathways. By 8th grade, Dual Immersion ELs score much higher on the ELA test than the average student in California and SFUSD ELs enrolled in other Pathways. The ELA scores of ELs in Bilingual Maintenance and English Plus increase slightly faster than those of the average California student, reaching the state average by 8th grade.
Average Mathematics Achievement Trajectories, Compared to the State Average: EL Kindergarten Entrants, by EL Pathway On average, ELs in all Pathways score above the state average in mathematics. ELs enrolled in the Dual Immersion Pathway score higher than ELs in the other Pathways after 3rd grade.
On average, ELs in the Dual Immersion, English Plus, and Bilingual Maintenance Pathways score above the state average in math in all grades. After 3rd grade, ELs in the Dual Immersion Pathway have higher average math scores than ELs in the English Plus and Bilingual Maintenance Pathways.
Standardized Math Score (State Average = 0)
This figure (right) describes the average pattern of math scores on the California Standards Test (CST) among ELs from 2nd through 6th grade. As above, math test scores here are compared the scores of the average California student.
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ALL ELs DRAFT_ENGLISH | January 2014
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