Beyond Sink or Swim: A Longitudinal Analysis of Bilingual Programs in the Houston Independent School District

• In Event: 566 - Section on Latino/a Sociology Roundtable Session (one-hour).
  In Refereed Roundtable: Section on Latino/a Sociology Roundtables (one-hour). Table 01. Youth and Parents

Abstract

As the proportion of English Language Learners (ELLs) increases across the country’s K–12 schools, Texas is one of only four states that have issued mandates for bilingual education in public schools. In 2002, Thomas and Collier’s landmark study of bilingual education highlighted the Houston Independent School District (HISD) as an archetype for bilingual programs, reporting that its dual language programs sustain long-term academic benefits for ELLs. More than a decade after Thomas and Collier’s research, it is important to revisit and reexamine bilingual programs offered at HISD to determine whether they continue to meet the needs of the district’s growing base of Spanish-speaking students. HISD is the seventh largest district in the United States, and Spanish-speaking ELLs comprise 28 percent of its student population. Within this context, this longitudinal study explores Latino ELL student achievement across four possible bilingual conditions: two-way bilingual immersion programs, one-way developmental programs, traditional bilingual programs, and English immersion for ELLs who opted out of bilingual education. The analysis tracks the academic progress of the kindergarten cohort of 2007–08 through its fifth grade year in 2012–13.

Author

• Sandra Anna Alvear, Rice University