How, When, and Why Are English Language Learners Reclassified as Fluent English Proficient? New Methods for Establishing and Examining English Language Learner Assessment, Accountability, and Equity Policies

Session Submission Type: Symposium

Abstract

A common milestone of linguistic and academic progress of English language learner (ELL) students is their reclassification from the ELL into the reclassified fluent English proficient (RFEP) category. Research on ELL reclassification has highlighted the complex and problematic nature of this construct. Despite this research base, there has been little empirical research exploring the time interval needed to attain reclassification; the multiple factors (individual, family, and school) that influence that time interval; and methods for setting reclassification criteria such that services are optimally delivered to help foster ELLs’ long-term academic success. This symposium advances our understanding of these issues using various analytic methods, from the simple descriptive to complex quantitative and mixed-methods approaches, on California state and district data.

Sub Unit

• SIG-Hispanic Research Issues

Chair

• Robert T. Linquanti, WestEd

Papers

• Monitoring the Progress of English Learners: The Importance of Focusing on Current and Reclassified English Learners - William M. Saunders, University of California - Los Angeles

• Languages, Labels, and Opportunity: Latino English Learners and Reclassification in a Large, Urban School District - Ilana Marice Umansky, Stanford University

• Time to English Proficiency and Relationship Between English Proficiency and Academic Achievement: Analysis of Long-Term Linguistic and Academic Outcomes for English Learners - Karen D. Thompson, Oregon State University

• Evaluating Criteria for English Learner Reclassification: How Do We Know if the Chosen Reclassification Policy Is Appropriate? - Joseph P. Robinson, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Discussants

• Kenji Hakuta, Stanford University

• Patricia C. Gandara, University of California - Los Angeles