What Blocks the Gate? Exploring Current and Former English Learners' Math Course-Taking in Secondary School

• In Event: 73.026 - English Learner Access to Core Content: Critically Examining Linguistic Stratification in Schools

Abstract

Objectives: Secondary mathematics courses are often seen as gatekeepers to postsecondary education. Students who are successful in high-level mathematics courses in high school are more likely than their peers to complete a college degree (Adelman, 1999). Yet successful completion of secondary mathematics courses remains elusive for many, particularly English learners (National Center for Education Statistics, 2012). This study uses mixed methods to explore what blocks the gate to enrollment in and successful completion of high-level secondary math courses for both current and former ELs.

Theoretical framework: I build on scholarship that applies the opportunity to learn framework to understand differences in ELs’ classroom contexts, considering how students’ access to rigorous course content, highly skilled teachers, and other factors at the classroom- and school-level shape students’ experiences (Callahan, 2005; Callahan & Dabach, 2011).

Methods and Data: This mixed methods study relies on two distinct data sources. First, I use eight years of student-level data from seven California school districts. I adapt methods used by Finkelstein, Fong, Tiffany-Morales, Shields, & Huang (2012) to examine math course-taking patterns among current and former ELs. In addition to this quantitative data, I use case study research to examine math course-taking among 14 current and former English learners in more detail.

Results: While enrollment and success in high-level math courses in secondary school is low among all students, among current ELs it is startlingly low. For example, only about 5% of current ELs enroll in an accelerated math sequence of algebra 1 in 8th grade, geometry in 10th grade, and algebra 2 in 10th grade, compared to approximately 20% of all students. Enrollment and success in high-level secondary math courses is much higher among former ELs than among current ELs. Overall, former ELs tend to enroll and attain proficiency in high-level math courses at similar or slightly lower rates when compared to native English speakers. However, there is considerable variation in outcomes for former ELs based on multiple factors, including the grade level in which they were reclassified as proficient in English.

Case study research suggests that even students who were strong math students during the elementary years can experience great difficulty in secondary math courses. Receiving a grade of D or below in a single math course may set off a chain reaction of math failure from which it is difficult for students to recover. Both current and former ELs typically do not connect difficulties they may experience in math courses to issues with language proficiency. Instead, they most often fault their math skills, the complexity of the math content, their work ethic, and teaching practices that were not motivating or engaging.

Significance: This study contributes to conversations about the barriers to enrollment and success in secondary math courses that current and former English learners encounter, and to conversations about how to improve outcomes in mathematics for all students.

Author

• Karen D. Thompson, Oregon State University