Limiting labels: Opportunities to learn and college readiness among English language learners

Abstract

AbstractOver a fifth of California's public schools' students have limited access to college and career pathways due to being labeled an “English‐language learner (ELLs).” As reported by the California Department of Education, in the 2017–2018 school year, of the over 6.2 million students in California, nearly 1.3 million students are categorized as ELLs. The ELL label states students “whose difficulties in speaking, reading, writing, or understanding English may (my emphasis) limit his or her ability to (1) achieve in classrooms where English is the language of instruction and (2) access opportunities to fully participate in society.” Aligned with deficit thinking models, the US school system interprets “may” as “will” and makes decisions that negatively impact a large body of students across the country. The growing body of research reveals that many with the ELL label have been and continue to be intentionally underserved, limited access to postsecondary education, tracked into low‐rigor and stigmatizing course pathways, and are deliberately unsupported to become college‐ready, furthering the inequities in education and limiting options for quality k‐12 educational experiences. The system becomes blinded by the label and ignores students with ELL labels' abilities and capacities to learn. So how are students with ELL labels supposed to become college‐ready, let alone career‐ready? For the purposes of this critical literature review, I will focus on exploring the existing structures that define “college‐readiness” and the disparities created by the intentional tracking of students with the ELL label in comparison to their non‐ELL peers.