(*please click on highlighted word to view survey, charts and graphs)           

          Our survey was administered to a total of 202 students in a variety of Bay Area middle and high schools—56 students currently enrolled in ELD programs, 24 who were previously enrolled in ELD courses, and 122 who have never been enrolled in ELD courses. In our original survey we asked the students to report quite a bit of background information (such as ethnicity, age, class title, etc.) As we began to analyze the data we decide to eliminate these variables due to the complicated nature of taking them all into account in a graphic form. The two variables which we retained are their grade levels and their association (or lack thereof) with ELD/SDAIE/sheltered courses. We made this decision based on the fact that the specific goals of this project targets issues of English language learners. We also felt that there would be significant variation between student attitudes at different grade levels, reflecting their progression through the educational system.

         We feel that it is also important to acknowledge the fact that this was an opinion survey—the results are relevant to this project and our particular questions and interests. Due to the limited amount of time during which this project was conducted, the results are merely a superficial glance at the deeper issues and opinions. It is our hope that future projects will tackle these same issues using a more systematic approach.

          A brief analysis of each set of graphs follows. It will be readily noted that there are significant differences between ELD student responses and those of mainstream students. In addition it should be evident that previous ELD students show more alignment with the mainstream opinions than with the current ELD student opinions. Perhaps this indicates that they are making a successful transition into the mainstream courses—it is a worthwhile hope anyway! Our analysis does not go into great depth because we do not want to bias an interpretation of the results. We do hope, however, that our brief synopsis of the results assists the reader in interpreting the graphs and drawing relevant conclusions there from.

Question Six

          The vertical bar graphs for question six reveal that tenth graders currently in mainstream courses seem to be the focal group for pre-test preparation, spending anywhere from one to five hours on test prep in their classes. Middle school ELD students also report more time spent in test preparation. We found it interesting that by eleventh grade, nearly 30% of all student groups (ELD, previous-ELD, and non-ELD) spend no time on in-school test preparation

Question Seven

         Our horizontal bar graphs for question seven reveal some noteworthy trends. The clear majority of current ELD students are very unsure of the effect that this test may have on their future—a fact that appears true from 7th grade students through 11th grade students. However, for students enrolled in mainstream courses by 11th grade the opinions are fairly evenly dispersed along the spectrum. These results reveal that ELD students have very little understanding of why the test is given and whether it will affect them personally. Mainstream students seem to have a greater understanding of the system and realize that these scores, unlike AP or SAT scores, will only have a minor impact on their future education, if it has any impact at all.

Question Eight

          Again we see that current ELD students attribute greater weight to the test than do mainstream students. While ELD answers were dominated by students who "strongly agreed," "agreed," or were "unsure" of whether the test measured their intelligence, mainstream students tended to "disagree" or to "strongly disagree." These results were fairly consistent across grade levels and again may reveal the difference between an ELD student’s familiarity with the system versus a mainstream student’s familiarity therewith.

Question Nine

          These lovely colored graphs reveal that while over 50% of all mainstream students feel like they understand most of "the questions, answers and directions" given on the test, ELD students are far more "unsure" of their test comprehension than their mainstream peers. Given the language limitations of ELD students, these results are not surprising. They are, however, unfortunate.

Question Ten

          Similar to the results of questions seven and eight, ELD student tend to report that the test has greater relevance to their coursework than do mainstream students. This may reflect the fact that ELD students are being taught different material or in a different way, (that is somehow more aligned with the test), or it may demonstrate again the fact that ELD students are less familiar with the testing system and are less cynical in their opinions thereof.

Background
Results & Analysis
Quotations
Schedule
Summary

 

 

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