ELLs start middle school roughly .6 SD lower in math and .65 SD lower in reading, with faster reading growth (.13 SD) but no significantly faster math or self-efficacy growth¶
Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study (2 entries) · associationalr2·q2
Currency · newest study 2019 · checked against its sources 2026-10-20 (automated, 2 of 2 entries) · not reviewed by a person · overdue for a recheck since 2024: baselines and conditions change
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.
q2 i? Being an ELL is associated with reading growth between 5th and 8th grade that is .13 standard deviations higher than among peers, while initial reading scores are .65 standard deviations lower; these are standardized SEM coefficients, so no effect-size impact is coded. → Soland 2019
q2 i? ELLs' initial self-efficacy is .23 standard deviations lower and ELL status is not significantly associated with the self-efficacy slope in either the math or reading model. → Soland 2019 (2)
Evidence¶
Soland 2019¶
Soland, J. (2019). English Language Learners, Self-efficacy, and the Achievement Gap: Understanding the Relationship between Academic and Social-emotional Growth (The Collaborative for Student Growth at NWEA Working Paper). https://www.nwea.org/research/publication/english-language-learners-self-efficacy-and-the-achievement-gap-understanding-the-relationship-between-academic-and-social-emotional-growth/
q2 · i? · associational · r2
Reading model of the same latent curve SEM (Question 2, Figure 3; RMSEA = .045, CFI = .992). The article attributes the faster reading growth to ELLs mastering English and catching up over time, citing Cook et al. and Umansky & Reardon; the .65 and .13 values are standardized coefficients, so impact is null.
"Turning to reading, ELLs have initial achievement scores that are .65 standard deviations below non-ELLs. However, being an ELL is associated with growth in reading between 5th and 8th grade that is .13 standard deviations higher than among their peers."
Soland 2019 (2)¶
Soland, J. (2019). English Language Learners, Self-efficacy, and the Achievement Gap: Understanding the Relationship between Academic and Social-emotional Growth (The Collaborative for Student Growth at NWEA Working Paper). https://www.nwea.org/research/publication/english-language-learners-self-efficacy-and-the-achievement-gap-understanding-the-relationship-between-academic-and-social-emotional-growth/
q2 · i? · associational · r2
Self-efficacy growth results from the same SEMs (Question 2, Figure 3). The article concludes ELLs start much lower on self-efficacy and those scores "do not appear to grow more over time" relative to non-ELLs: the association with the slope is not statistically significant (in the reading model, negative but indistinguishable from zero), which is no evidence of faster growth rather than evidence of none. No effect size is printed for the slope association, so impact is coded i?.
"For self-efficacy, ELLs have initial scores that are .23 standard deviations lower, but ELL status is not significantly associated with the slope on self-efficacy."
Discussion¶
Learner Variables¶
- English-Learner Status — predictor: learners who differ on it differ in outcomes
Related Claims¶
- ELs lag behind peers in achievement and attainment partly due to limited exposure to academic content — the general claim this finding bears on, with the studies behind it
- Self-efficacy declines steadily for all students between 5th and 8th grade even while math and reading achievement grow — related
- Fifth-grade self-efficacy is associated with later math and reading growth (.15 and .19 standardized units per SD), mediating ELL status's indirect negative association with growth — related
- Non-ELLs outscore ELLs in math, reading, and self-efficacy at every timepoint, with a 2015 self-efficacy gap exceeding .35 standard deviations — related
- A companion working paper examines the relationship between academic and social-emotional growth for English Language Learners — related
- Within-person deviations from math and self-efficacy growth trajectories at a given time point are not related across constructs — related
- Teacher emotional support buffers the negative association between low math self-efficacy and low engagement — related
- Household chaos predicts lower prekindergarten math and reading but faster growth in both
- An NWEA research brief examines how self-efficacy relates to the persistence of achievement gaps for English Language Learners; its landing page states no finding — related
Page metadata
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
type |
claim |
id |
ell-lower-start-faster-reading-growth-only |
title |
ELLs start middle school roughly .6 SD lower in math and .65 SD lower in reading, with faster reading growth (.13 SD) but no significantly faster math or self-efficacy growth |
description |
ELLs start middle school roughly .6 SD lower in math and .65 SD lower in reading, with faster reading growth (.13 SD) but no significantly faster math or self-efficacy growth |
status |
review |
evidence_strength |
moderate |
newest_evidence |
2019 |
source_checked |
2026-10-20 |
recheck_by |
2024 |
generated |
by process:wiki-ingest on 2026-10-09 |
trust |
unverified — no one has confirmed this page's content |
sources |
2 — soland-2019, soland-2019-2 |
Frontmatter is the page's machine-readable record — see the Schema & Guide.