Achievement Of English Language Learners Research Articles

Enhancing Content Areas Through a Cognitive Academic Language Learning Based Collaborative in South Texas

This article describes the implementation and assessment of the Content Area Program Enhancement (CAPE) model. Based on the Cognitive Academic Language Learning Approach, CAPE fosters a collaborative environment among teachers, administrators, and practitioners to improve instruction and achievement for English language learners. Specifically, the CAPE implementation in a predominantly Hispanic school district in south Texas is examined in terms of program goals, instructional support, administrator and teacher program critical assessment, and student assessment through the Texas Assessment of Academic Skills, a high-stakes, statemandated test. The CAPE approach was found effective with English language learning students, including those who were atrisk of dropping out of the school. Through several paired-samples t-tests on the students' reading and mathematics Texas Learning Indexes, the program was found to improve the student scores in both domains. The research also confirms that school commitment to improve their teacher instructional approach was crucial to the success of program implementation.

Effects of Bilingual and English as a Second Language Adaptations of Success for All on the Reading Achievement of Students Acquiring English

Two adaptations of Success for All, a comprehensive reform program for elementary schools, have been used with students acquiring English. One is a Spanish bilingual version, called Exito Para Todos, in which students are taught to read in Spanish and then transitioned to English reading, usually in third or fourth grade. The other integrates English as a Second Language (ESL) strategies with English reading instruction. This paper summarizes the results of both of these adaptations for students acquiring English. The effects of Success for All on the achievement of English language learners are, in general, substantially positive. In all schools implementing Exito Para Todos, effect sizes for first graders on Spanish assessments were very positive, especially when schools were implementing most of the program's elements. Even after transitioning to English-only instruction, Exito Para Todos third graders performed better on English assessments than control students who were primarily taught in English. For students acquiring English receiving ESL instruction, effect sizes for all comparisons were also positive.

Latin American Immigration and U.S. Schools

Latin American Immigration and U.S. Schools