The Urgency to Support Upper-Elementary English Learners’ Language and Literacy Development Post-Covid-19

• In Event: Examining Literacy Learning Opportunities for Elementary Multilingual Students

Abstract

This study examines students’ language and literacy development in 4th and 5th grades in the post-COVID-19 era when they returned to the classroom from remote learning. Specifically, I focus on English learners (ELs) as they were disproportionately affected by the school shutdowns and the economic crisis during the pandemic (Uro et al., 2020; Villegas & Garcia, 2022). This paper builds on the literature on equitable access to learning (Burns et al., 2019), advocating for boosting ELs’ English language development to meet the exiting criteria for reclassification before entering middle school (Pope, 2016).

When ELs are reclassified as proficient in English, they can participate in the mainstream classroom and receive rigorous content learning (Thompson, 2017). In the long run, they will be more likely to graduate from high school within four years and be eligible to apply for college (Carlson & Knowles, 2016; Johnson, 2019). Therefore, ELs’ time in upper-elementary grades is critical for timely monitoring and targeted interventions.

We drew data from a randomized-control-trial research project testifying to the efficiency of a dialogic-teaching-based literacy curriculum—Cultivating Linguistic Awareness for Voice and Equity in Schools (CLAVES)—for upper elementary multilingual students and their peers (Proctor et al., 2021). Only data collected from the control group from the first two years (2021-2022 and 2022-2023) was included in this analysis. It allowed us to understand ELs’ learning under usual circumstances. In total, the sample consists of 1,122 students from 11 schools within four school districts in northern California. There was an even split between 4th and 5th graders among the sample, and 40% of them were current ELs. Students’ test scores from the state annual assessments on English language arts (CAASPP-ELA) and English language development (summative ELPAC) were collected as learning outcomes, in addition to administrative information, such as gender, ethnicity, attendance, and English language fluency.

Descriptive statistics were used to summarize students’ learning outcomes at the end of the school year. Results show that, despite the significant increase of CAASPP-ELA test scores for students in general (t(814)=14.351, p<.001, d=0.5), 51.4% of the students (4.1% NA) did not meet grade-level standards (Level 3). When disaggregating student groups by English language fluency, we observed a significant gap between ELs and non-ELs, and the magnitudes differed across school contexts. In addition, 81% of the ELs who took the summative ELPAC (n=386) did not show well-developed oral and writing skills (Level 4), though their average yearly increase was also significant (t(339)=7.2168, p<.001, d=0.39).

Compared to the pre-pandemic era, more ELs met neither of the primary exiting criteria for reclassification, being at risk of becoming long-term ELs. This trend resonates with findings in the field that the pandemic worsened ELs’ learning loss, and that despite their growths, there is still a long way to catch up. This is where a language-based curriculum like CLAVES that leverages dialogic teaching and peer learning could be helpful, cultivating students’ cognitive and social-emotional development.

Author

• Hsiaolin Hsieh, Stanford University