English Learners in Arizona: A Failure of Proposition 203

• In Event: Multilingual Learners and Bilingual Education: Language Policy Perspectives

Abstract

This paper examines the educational outcomes for Arizona’s students classified as English Language Learners (ELLs) under Proposition 203. This study evaluates the academic performance, based on standardized test data and graduation rates, of ELL-classified students from 2015 to 2022 and 2010 to 2022, respectively. Data for prior years was not available due to changes in the standardized testing metric and an uncooperative Department of Education. The data demonstrate a systematic failure of Arizona’s language policies, which have been framed to benefit ELL-classified students, but instead have done little to improve students’ academic outcomes.

Author

• Neida Basheer Ahmad, Loyola Marymount University