In some schools the total number of students whose first language is not English is much higher. Specifically, Devoe reports that in Lawrence, Massachusetts more than 90% of all children enrolled in public schools are ELLs. Devoe argues that in these districts, a catch-22 has developed which makes it difficult for schools to provide educational services to ELLs. Specifically, ELL students that do not pass reading and math competence tests are labeled as "in need of improvement." Although efforts have been made to improve outcomes for these students, basic English competency remains a significant challenge limiting the progress of the students and the school on standardized tests. As ELL students fail to meet standards, schools that have high numbers of ELL students face losing their federal funding (35).
When placed in this context, the true challenge for schools with high numbers of ELL students becomes clear. Although efforts are being made to improve test scores and outcomes for these students, without federal funding, schools will not be able to meet the needs of this population. Thus, schools that are in jeopardy of losing federal funding are the ones that are most in need. Unfortunately, however, few provisions have been placed in the NCLB to effective address this unique population (Devoe, 35). As such schools with high populations of ELLs will continue to face challenges as they attempt to meet the mandates of the legislation and provide adequate, quality education for all students.
Given the notable challenges that face ELLs when it comes to NCLB, it is important to consider what specific provisions and issues have been addressed in the context of this population under the legislation. Devoe, in her review of the provisions of NCLB with respect to ELLs reports that "Under Title III of NCLB, states must give all ELLs a yearly English proficiency test and must meet annual achievement objectives to improve the scores of ELLs in five areas: speaking, reading, writing, listening and comprehension" (Devoe, 36). Devoe goes on to report that the goal of these tests is to produce the same academic proficiency levels in ELLs that are achieved by non-ELL students. Additionally, ELL students that have been in the country for more than one year are required to take yearly proficiency tests in math (36). This can further exacerbate the challenges facing students and the school as efforts to improve scores must focus on both reading and math.
Although the central focus of standardized tests is to ensure that all students are receiving the same quality education, the reality is that statistical data on outcomes for ELL students demonstrate that, on average, ELL students perform 20 to 30% lower on NCLB tests than non-ELL students (Devoe, 36). What this effectively suggests is that there are notable achievement gaps between ELL and non-ELL students. These gaps in education are seen across all school districts in all states. Given that the differences are uniform across all regions of the U.S., it seems reasonable to argue that the inability of ELLs to reach minimum performance standards does not reflect on the performance of the educator; rather ELL students have specific educational needs that are simply not being met in the context of public education. Therefore, penalizing schools because of the poor performance of ELL students on standardized tests appears to lie outside of the intentions of the NCLB Act (Devoe, 37-8).
Other scholars examining the current state of ELL students in the context of NCLB have argued that the legislation creates considerable challenges for schools with large populations of ELL students. For instance, Wright also notes the dichotomy created for schools with ELL students:
By 2014, all English language learners, regardless of how long they have been in the United States, must pass their state's accountability tests. Moreover, if the requisite number of English language learners in a school's LEP [limited English proficiency] subgroup does not pass the tests in a given year, the school is deemed as failing and may be subjected to sanctions (Wright, 22).
Wright goes...
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