Dual language programs improved English literacy achievement, with a potentially positive effects rating based on one study¶
Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study · quant-synthesisr1·q3·i1small
Currency · newest study 2023 · checked against its sources 2026-10-16 (automated, 1 of 1 entry) · not reviewed by a person
Subclaims¶
Reading the evidence codes
q is the design tier, i the impact, n the sample, and the kind with its r
the rigour judged within that kind: what each code means.
This claim: no standardized effect is recorded in observations/ for it yet, so no benchmark reading is possible.
q3 i1 Dual language programs produced a statistically significant positive effect on grade 5 literacy achievement (effect size 0.14, improvement index +5, p=0.02). → lit-1
Evidence¶
lit-1¶
What Works Clearinghouse, Institute of Education Sciences, U.S. Department of Education. (2023, December). Dual language programs. https://ies.ed.gov/ncee/wwc/InterventionReport/726
q3 · i1 · quant-synthesis · r1
The WWC's synthesis of the Steele et al. (2017) randomized controlled trial with low attrition, rated meets standards without reservations, reports a literacy effect size of 0.14 and improvement index +5, statistically significant at "Yes (p=0.02)". The rating is potentially positive effects because it rests on one study.
"End of 6 years of implementation (Steele et al., 2017) 844 students in grade 5 Multiple schools in Portland, Oregon 0.14 +5 Yes (p=0.02)"
Discussion¶
Related Claims¶
- Teaching students in a language they understand benefits both language learning and broader learning — the general claim this finding bears on, with the studies behind it
- Literacy benefits of dual language programs did not extend to the English learner subsample in the strongest study — related
- The Pathway to Academic Success Project has potentially positive effects on literacy achievement for English learners in grades 6-12 — related
- BCIRC has potentially positive effects on reading achievement for Spanish-speaking English language learners (effect size 0.61, not statistically significant after clustering correction) — related
- VIP shows potentially positive effects on reading achievement for fifth-grade English language learners (effect size 0.50, not statistically significant) — related
- The WWC rates Reading Mastery as having potentially positive effects on the reading achievement of English language learners — related
- Dual language participants started 2nd grade with lower achievement than nonparticipants — related
Page metadata
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
type |
claim |
id |
dual-language-programs-improve-literacy-achievement |
title |
Dual language programs improved English literacy achievement, with a potentially positive effects rating based on one study |
description |
Dual language programs improved English literacy achievement, with a potentially positive effects rating based on one study |
status |
review |
evidence_strength |
moderate |
newest_evidence |
2023 |
source_checked |
2026-10-16 |
generated |
by process:wiki-ingest on 2026-10-07 |
trust |
unverified — no one has confirmed this page's content |
sources |
1 — lit-1 |
Frontmatter is the page's machine-readable record — see the Schema & Guide.