English learner status in Florida public schools is correlated with significantly lower graduation rates

Abstract

Many studies have focused on the relationship between socioeconomic factors and graduation rates. One such factor is English language learner (ELL) status. It is vital to study the ELL student population, as well as the factors contributing to their performance, because ELL students make up the fastest growing segment of the public school population nationally. We hypothesized that ELL status would play a significant role in graduation rates in Florida. Our study showed that over the past five years Florida ELL students consistently had the lowest graduation rates of all student subtypes measured. ELL students had significantly higher dropout rates than non-ELL students. Additionally, analysis of the student distribution throughout the state highlighted that greater than 61% of ELL students are attending school in just five of the 68 Florida counties. Our study also investigated the correlation between economic disadvantage and ELL students and found that 10 counties showed a correlation between ELL status and economic disadvantage for greater than 80% of their ELL student population. Although Spanish is the predominant primary language for ELL students, Hispanic graduation rates did not differ significantly from those of white students. Interestingly, former ELL students who are more than two years past the ELL status classification had the same graduation rate as their non-ELL peers. Thus, it is important to not only assess where and how to implement resources to assist ELL students but also employ community outreach to change biases or potential peer influences associated with schooling.