Educational policies in the United States and implications for English learners

Abstract

This article provides a historical context for current educational policies in the United States, especially those mandated by the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB). The article explains the effects of these policies on a rapidly growing segment of the U.S. population, namely English Learners (ELs), students who are in the process of developing English as an additional language. It explains several of the controversies and concerns related to the use of standardized tests with this student population.

Introduction - language planning: where have we been? where might we be going?

“…These examples illustrate how individual agency -when widespread -may compromise the impact of a national language policy. As a counter example to individual agency, Burke and Oliveira (2012) review the "No Child Left Behind" Act in the United States, and show the exertion of macro top-down policy power may suppress languages other than English, possibly unofficially turning English into the official language in the polity. Finally, Almeida's (2012) study provides us with another reminder of the power that schools have in setting policy and determining what is learned in schools.…”