Functional Language Deficits Among High- and Low-Achieving Alternative School Students

• In Event: 32.083 - Roundtable Session 12
  In Roundtable Session: 32.083-17 - Talent Development of Students Placed at Risk SIG Roundtable Session

Abstract

Alternative school students have been argued to be both understudied and inequitably served. Meanwhile, alternative school pedagogy has been suggested to vary little from that of mainstream schools. As alternative school students frequently attend such schools because of perceived cognitive or behavioral problems and language acquisition has been argued to be crucial to the development of both cognition and behavior, this study sought to examine the language function of a purposive sample of both high and low achieving students from a well-regarded alternative school. Findings from the study suggested that all of the participants have significant deficits in language function. This suggests the need for further study of such students and perhaps curricular changes at such schools.

Authors

• Aaron Green-Mitchell, Portland Public Schools

• Ellyn Arwood, University of Portland