Tracing the Development of and Motivations for Biliteracy with Multilingual Students Dually Designated as English Learners and Special Education Students

• In Event: Becoming a Reader: Centering Students' Experiences for Meaningful Literacy Research and Just Repair

Abstract

Dually designated students, who are classified as English learners and identified with a disability, are less likely to be reclassified than their EL peers due to reclassification policies focused on standardized test scores (Schissel & Kangas, 2018). Data from standardized assessments do not provide a complete description of students’ growth and achievement over time, which can make reclassification unattainable (Schissel & Kangas, 2018). For teachers, this data falls short for making targeted instructional responses (Author & Author, 2015).

Arguments for an expanded view of assessment with multilingual students have included more frequent monitoring using classroom-level indicators of growth, conceptualizing “continua of biliteracy” (Hornberger & Link, 2012), and taking account of student voice and bilingual preferences (e.g., Mancilla‐Martinez, et al., 2021). Collectively, these reforms to assessment approaches call for more holistic approaches to assessing multilingual students and may be critical for meaningfully tracing progressions of biliteracy in dually designated students (Kangas & Schissel, 2021).

This study took place in a Spanish maintenance bilingual program (grades PK-5) in a PK-12 public, community school. Participating students were of Latinx heritage (N = 29; male, n = 20). All students had a special education and language proficiency designation (see Table 1).

We applied a mixed-methods research design. Quantitatively, we conducted descriptive longitudinal analysis and proportional analysis to identify which students (with differing combinations of special education and language proficiency designations) were reading at emerging, approaching, proficient, approaching dual, and dual reading proficiency levels in the second through fifth grades. Qualitatively, drawing from student cases, we explored the factors contributing to students’ bilingual reading growth from their own perspectives as fifth graders utilizing thematic analysis of survey and self-assessment items as well as portraiture.

Preliminary quantitative results indicated that students made more gains in English reading than Spanish reading from second to fifth grade. However, most students’ Spanish and English reading increased on an upward trajectory and in proximity of one another over time. Regarding dual-reading profiles, on both ends of the continua (emerging and dual proficient) the proportion of readers decreased. The proportions of approaching, proficient, and approaching dual readers increased. See Table 2.

Preliminary qualitative findings are with two example cases, Manuel (Figure 1) and Gustavo (Figure 2). Manuel, an approaching-dual reader, mentioned loving to read in Spanish, whereas Gustavo, an emerging reader in both languages, spoke about being an “impeccable” reader of both languages. Paradoxically, when reading at home, Manuel, the more proficient English and Spanish reader, reported “always” reading in English, but “rarely” in Spanish, and expressed feeling “somewhat uncomfortable” using both languages at school. In contrast, Gustavo, reported “always” reading in both languages at home and felt “extremely comfortable” using both at school. Both students’ line plots showed that their English reading progressed at a more accelerated rate than Spanish.

Together, these findings show the importance of tracing the development of and motivations for biliteracy with dually designated multilingual students over time. Implications for assessment and instruction will be shared.

Authors

• Janet G. Cerda, University of California - Los Angeles

• Alison L. Bailey, University of California - Los Angeles