Using data from seven cohorts of language immersion lottery applicants in a large, urban school district, we estimate the causal effects of immersion programs on students’ test scores in reading, mathematics, and science and on English learners’ (EL) reclassification. We estimate positive intent-to-treat (ITT) effects on reading performance in fifth and eighth grades, ranging from 13% to 22% of a standard deviation, reflecting 7 to 9 months of learning. We find little benefit in terms of mathematics and science performance but also no detriment. By sixth and seventh grade, lottery winners’ probabilities of remaining classified as EL are 3 to 4 percentage points lower than those of their counterparts. This effect is stronger for ELs whose native language matches the partner language.

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Research has demonstrated that students in dual-language immersion programs perform as well as, or better than, their peers in core academic content areas by late elementary school. However, the extent to which immersion education fosters bilingualism has received less attention in the literature.

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Many students who enter community colleges are underprepared in reading, writing, and/or mathematics and designated as not being college-ready. Colleges typically require students who are not college-ready in one or more subjects to enroll in developmental education (DE), which has traditionally consisted of a series of subject-based courses for students to complete prior to entering college-level classes. Data from 2010 suggest that 68 percent of community college students enrolled in at least one DE course, at a cost of approximately $7 billion (Community College Research Center, 2014a; Scott-Clayton, Crosta, and Belfield, 2012). However, evidence indicates that traditional approaches to DE were not working for many students. One study found that only 20 percent of students assigned to traditional course-based math DE and 37 percent of students assigned to course-based reading DE completed a first college-level course within three years of entering school (Bailey, Jeong, and Cho, 2010). Faced with troubling evidence on the success of students who take traditional DE courses, states and higher education institutions across the United States are rethinking the way they address college readiness. C O R P O R A T I O N Designing and Implementing Corequisite Models of Developmental Education Findings from Texas Community CollegesLindsay Daugherty, Celia J. Gomez, Diana Gehlhaus Carew, Alexandra Mendoza-Graf, Trey Miller• Five common types of corequisite models were identified as being implemented in the participating Texas community colleges: paired-course models, extended instructional time models, Accelerated Learning Program models, academic support service models, and technology-mediated support models.• Challenges to implementation included lack of stakeholder buy-in, issues with scheduling and advising, limited instructional preparation and support, and uncertainty around state policy.• Efforts to build buy-in and address challenges were essential to successful implementation.• Some strategies, such as dedicated time for design, professional development, and small class sizes, could be more costly.• Unique features, such as use of a single instructor for the corequisites and mixed-ability peer groups, could be important to the effectiveness of their models but often faced more challenges with scheduling, advising, and buy-in across the institution.