Sponsor
This research was funded by grants from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (R01 HD40428-02) and from the National Science Foundation (REC-0126167) to the Population Research Center, University of Texas–Austin; Chandra Muller (principal investigator). This research was also supported by a grant from the American Educational Research Association, which receives funds for its “AERA-IES Post-Doctoral Fellows Program” from the Institute of Education Sciences (U.S. Department of Education). In addition, this study received funding from Russell Sage Project 88-06-12, Chandra Muller (principal investigator) and Rebecca Callahan (co-principal investigator).
Document Type
Post-Print
Publication Date
2009
Subjects
English language -- Study and teaching -- Foreign speakers, Academic achievement -- Effect of ESL placement on, Language and education -- United States
Abstract
In this study, the authors explore English as a Second Language (ESL) placement as a measure of how schools label and process immigrant students. Using propensity score matching and data from the Adolescent Health and Academic Achievement Study and the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health, the authors estimate the effect of ESL placement on immigrant achievement. In schools with more immigrant students, the authors find that ESL placement results in higher levels of academic performance; in schools with few immigrant students, the effect reverses. This is not to suggest a one-size-fits-all policy; many immigrant students, regardless of school composition, generational status, or ESL placement, struggle to achieve at levels sufficient for acceptance to a 4-year university. This study offers several factors to be taken into consideration as schools develop policies and practices to provide immigrant students opportunities to learn.
DOI
10.1177/0895904807310034
Persistent Identifier
http://archives.pdx.edu/ds/psu/19410
Citation Details
Callahan, Rebecca; Wilkinson, Lindsey; Muller, Chandra; and Frisco, Michelle, "ESL Placement and Schools: Effect on Immigrant Achievement" (2009). Sociology Faculty Publications and Presentations. 53.
http://archives.pdx.edu/ds/psu/19410
Included in
Bilingual, Multilingual, and Multicultural Education Commons, Educational Sociology Commons
Description
Author's version of a manuscript that was subsequently published in final edited form as: Educ Policy (Los Altos Calif). 2009 May 1; 23(2): 355–384. doi:10.1177/0895904807310034.
At the time of writing, Lindsey Wilkinson was affiliated with the University of Texas at Austin.