School Achievement of Kindergarten Pupils

¶ … School Achievement of Kindergarten Pupils for Whom English is a Second Language," by R.S. Rogers and E.N. Wright. A full study is conducted within the Toronto school system to assess whether or not there are actual limitations placed upon children who speak English as a second language within the school system. This detailed study presents a longevity study, which gives comparative analysis of how children do at their present level and beyond, the findings and research are very startling.

Rogers' data shows that when initially tested at the entrance level, first grade, children who have English as their second language are far behind in their classes within all subjects other than mathematics. They were far behind in all subject matters relating to literacy and understanding of English. Tests conducted through pupil profile folders, teacher rating questionnaires, and standardized testing shows that children at the entry level who have English as their second language are lowest within their class. This news is hardly startling, as former research also confirms that non-native speakers are most likely to struggle at the entry level.

The longevity test however reveals extremely startling results that have far eclipsed other recent studies. Within the test, two thirds of the test group were monolingual, speaking only English, while one third were bilingual with English as heir second language. Although at the entry level the latter group were the worst within their class, by third grade those pupil that have English as their second language have completely overcome all performance barriers due to their English fluency and literacy. By the end of third grade in fact, Rogers shows that bilingual children are in fact ahead of monolingual children within their overall performance in subjects that involve fluency and literacy. Rogers attributes this result to the greater degree of external assessment that bilingual students must give in order to master another language, which means that hey not only devote more attention but also are more provoked to fix correctable mistakes. While monolingual students have built in deficits to their native tongue due to their upraising, bilingual children are not so limited. In fact, because they must learn a completely new language they pay more specific attention in the mastery of vocabulary and other key indicators to future success within literary and reading comprehension.

Furthermore, it is shown that children with English as their second language are ultimately better off in the long run due to several factors. They are more likely to leave their entry level school system and enter into separate school systems than monolingual children. Several factors contribute to this, high achievement with bilinguals means that they are often selected to magnet schools, and also their immigrant roots causes much more living adjustment than monolingual children. Also, bilingual children are also less likely to be referred to correctional services or the Child Adjustment Services than monolingual children.