More than Language Learning: A QuantCrit Analysis of the Relationship Between District Contexts and Long-Term English Learner Rates

Abstract

Grounded in QuantCrit, this study expands upon “opportunity gap” research and the conceptualization of the “Long-Term English Learner” (LTEL) label as a reflection of inadequate learning environments rather than student characteristics by using district-level data to explore the relationship between systemic contextual factors and the rates that English Learners (EL) are labeled as LTELs. Descriptive statistics and OLS multiple regressions show three principle findings: (a) language programming, student demographics, and opportunities to learn varied across tertiles of LTEL rates; (b) geographic region is a statistically significant predictor of LTEL rates; and (c) statistically significant predictors for EL rates were different than those for LTEL rates, indicating differences across population needs and contexts. These findings highlight the importance of understanding LTELs as a distinctive subpopulation rather than falsely homogenizing them with ELs while contributing to scholarship that problematizes the LTEL label by showing how contextual factors divorced from student achievement and capability contribute to the production of LTEL students.