Conditional Effects of Language Acquisition Policies on Academic Achievement of Hispanic English Language Learners

• In Event: The Unintended Impact of Education Policy Implementation

Abstract

NAEP (2009) achievement data in reading, math, and science is used to evaluate the effect of the bilingual emphasis of state language acquisition policy on academic achievement of 4th grade Hispanic English language learners who are eligible for federal lunch programs. Additionally, the analysis explores whether the impact of bilingual policy emphases (coded on a 0 to 7 scale) is conditional upon Hispanic presence in the state, namely the percent of Hispanic residents. Preliminary regressions with state-level data indicate that bilingual policy emphasis is negatively related to mean achievement, although the effect becomes significantly positive in states that also have a higher proportion of Hispanic residents. Multilevel models will be estimated when restricted-use data are available.

Authors

• Francesca Lopez, The University of Arizona

• Elizabeth McEneaney, University of Massachusetts - Amherst

• Martina Nieswandt, University of Massachusetts - Amherst

• Lara Geronime, Marquette University