Students who began as ELs were not overidentified for special education services relative to students never classified as ELs¶

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study · associational r? · q2
Currency · newest study 2019 · not yet checked against its sources · not reviewed by a person · overdue for a recheck since 2024: baselines and conditions change

Subclaims¶

q2 i? Over their academic careers, continuously-enrolled students who began as ELs were identified as needing IEPs at similar rates to students never classified as ELs, contradicting overidentification concerns. → de la Torre 2019

Evidence¶

de la Torre 2019¶

de la Torre, M., Blanchard, A., Allensworth, E.M., & Freire, S. (2019). English Learners in CPS: A new perspective. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Consortium on School Research. https://consortium.uchicago.edu

q2 · i? · associational · r?

Descriptive comparison of IEP identification rates across elementary grades (Table 1 shows 7 vs 5 percent in kindergarten, 11 vs 10 in third, 17 vs 15 in eighth). The report notes began-as-EL students with IEPs were more often identified with learning disabilities (75 vs 65 percent). No effect size is printed.

"Our results do not support this theory: over the course of their academic careers, continuously-enrolled CPS students who began as ELs were identified as needing IEPs at similar rates to students who were never classified as ELs."

Discussion¶

Related Claims¶

• Students who began as ELs and demonstrated proficiency by eighth grade had academic outcomes similar to or higher than students never classified as ELs — related
• Students who began kindergarten as English Learners had similar achievement and growth, and higher attendance, compared to students never classified as ELs — related
• More than half of students who began as ELs passed the ACCESS proficiency exam by third grade and three-fourths by fifth grade; students who had not passed by fifth grade were unlikely to pass before high school — related
• ELs who did not reach proficiency by eighth grade showed continued growth but started first grade with much lower ACCESS scores, and rising grade-level thresholds meant they never met the proficiency cut — related
• GPAs were very similar for students who did and did not enter CPS as ELs, with a reading-grade gap that closed by seventh grade and similar Freshman OnTrack rates — related
• TEP's student population was similar to other neighborhood schools: high poverty, mostly Hispanic, with similar rates of special education services — related
• New programs increased training for leading special student populations, but sufficiency across all contexts remains debated — related
• The study gives explicit consideration to cultural differences and similarities in learning, including English learners and learners with learning disabilities — related