Schools are under increasing pressure to reclassify their English learner (EL) students to “fluent English proficient” status as quickly as possible. This article examines timing to reclassification among Latino ELs in four distinct linguistic instructional environments: English immersion, transitional bilingual, maintenance bilingual, and dual immersion. Using hazard analysis and 12 years of data from a large school district, the study investigates whether reclassification timing, patterns, or barriers differ by linguistic program. We find that Latino EL students enrolled in two-language programs are reclassified at a slower pace in elementary school but have higher overall reclassification, English proficiency, and academic threshold passage by the end of high school. We discuss the implications of these findings for accountability policies and educational opportunities in EL programs.

Whereas most existing research has examined the prevalence of current English learners (ELs) in special education, we propose and test the use of the ever-EL framework, which holds the subgroup of EL students stable by following all students who enter school classified as ELs. Drawing on two administrative data sets, discrete-time hazard analyses show that whereas current EL students are overrepresented in special education at the secondary level, students who enter school as ELs are significantly underrepresented in special education overall and within most disability categories. Reclassification patterns, in part, explain these findings: EL students with disabilities are far less likely than those without disabilities to exit EL services, resulting in large proportions of dually identified students at the secondary level. These findings shed new light on EL under- and overrepresentation in special education and offer insights into policies and practices that can decrease EL special education disproportionality.

This study examines the characteristics and determinants of English learners’ (ELs’) access to academic content in middle school (Grades 6–8). Following 10 years of data from a large urban school district in California, I identify two predominant characteristics of EL access to content: leveled tracking in which ELs are overrepresented in lower level classes and underrepresented in upper level classes and exclusionary tracking in which ELs are excluded from core academic content area classes, particularly English language arts. Using regression analysis and two regression discontinuity designs, I find evidence that ELs’ access to content is limited by a constellation of factors, including prior academic achievement, institutional constraints, English proficiency level, and direct effects of EL classification. This study contributes to understanding of the experiences and opportunities of students learning English as well as theory regarding educational tracking.

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Equity TweetResearch suggests revisions to how English learner students are classified, tracked, taught, and tested. Key Points• • Research suggests that many currently implemented education policies likely contribute to inequitable access and outcomes for English learners (ELs). AbstractEnglish learners (ELs), students from a home where a language other than English is spoken and who are in the process of developing English proficiency themselves, represent more than 10% of the U.S. student population. Oftentimes, education policies and practices create barriers for ELs to achieve access and outcomes that are equitable to those of their non-EL peers. Recent education research-often using experimental and quasi-experimental designs-provides new insights on how to evaluate EL policies, as well as how best to alter current policies to yield more equitable outcomes for ELs. Topics discussed include (a) EL classification and services, (b) language of instruction, (c) access to core content, and (d) assessments.