Joint Survival Models Potential to Improve Monitoring of English Language Progress

• In Event: Division H Vice-Presidential Session. English Language Proficiency: Interrogating Impacts

Abstract

Progress towards English language proficiency is an important aspect of federal ESSA accountability that recognizes the importance of English Learners (EL) acquiring sufficient English language skills to benefit from all opportunities to learn. Measuring progress towards English proficiency differs from measuring growth on academic content as English learners stop taking English language proficiency assessments once they are proficient, potentially attenuating English proficiency progress results. This attenuation potentially results in biased estimates of schools’ contribution to EL student success. This paper examines two alternatives to state models to determine whether some form of a joint survival-growth model better captures schools’ facilitation of progress. Preliminary results indicate that joint-model approaches may better reproduce EL progress trajectories than naïve models (models ignoring attrition).

Author

• Pete G. Goldschmidt, California State University - Northridge
  Presenting Author