Educating Language Minority Children

Limited English Proficient children (also known as English Learners) have legal rights under the U. S. Civil Rights Act to adequate and appropriate programs to help them learn English and academic subjects.

The most legal definition of how their needs are met is identified in a U. S. District Court decision (known as Castañeda) which defines appropriate action by a school as (1) whether the program is based on sound theory; (2) whether the program is adequately implemented; (3) whether the evaluations show desirable outcomes; and (4) whether the evaluations are used to re-examine implementation and/or the theory. These Castañeda standards are of great interest to me because they allow research knowledge to intersect with legal definitions.

Another important component for educating English Learners is their inclusion in the Standards-Based Reform movement, which attempts to align standards, curriculum, professional development, assessment and accountability and to mobilize this coherence to build confidence in public education. How are the needs of English learners addressed in this reform effort?

My own contributions to this can be found in reports from the Stanford Working Group and the National Academy of Sciences. Diane August worked closely with me in both of these efforts. My most recent statement about improving education for English learners can be found in a paper I wrote for the Rockefeller Foundation, Key Policy Milestones and Directions in the Education of English Language Learners. The paper can be viewed in the following formats:

• HTML Version (recommended format)
• Executive Format (MS Word)
• Paper (MS Word)
• PowerPoint Slides
• Full list of papers