Three-group taxonomy of English Learner service statuses for achievement analysis¶

Theory · All theories
Evidence · 6 claims (6 for) · 2 studies (2 associational), q2 · 0 of 2 report an effect size · 6 claims rest on one study

Description¶

The article organizes its analysis around three distinct English Learner groups defined by service eligibility: "ever-ELs who were ever eligible for service;" "current-ELs who continue to require service;" and "dually-identified students eligible for both EL and Special Education services." This taxonomy allows the study to separate students who exit EL service from those who continue to need it and from those with concurrent special education eligibility, each compared against never-EL peers and the all-student average. It structures all reported achievement and gain comparisons in grades K-8.

Design Implications¶

Context¶

Requirements¶

• Longitudinal assessment data linking students' EL service eligibility status over time
• A never-EL comparison group and an all-student average within the same schools and grades

Constraints¶

• The taxonomy distinguishes groups by service eligibility status, not by instructional approach or program type

Target Learners¶

• English Learners in grades K-8
• Dually-identified EL and Special Education students

Target Learning Objectives¶

• Mathematics achievement
• Reading achievement
• Academic growth across grades

Claims¶

• El Groups Lower Kindergarten Achievement [+M]
• Ever Current El Gains Grade Pattern [+M]
• Dually Identified Smaller Gains [+M]
• All three EL subgroups scored lower than never-ELs in math and reading throughout kindergarten to 4th grade [+W]
• In math, EL groups grew more than never-ELs during academic years but lost more during summers [+W]
• Dually-identified EL/SPED students had the lowest scores with gaps widening over time, driven by larger summer loss [+W]

Related Theories¶

Examples¶

• Analyze EL outcomes by years-as-EL subgroups rather than treating ELs as one group
• Provide urgent, strengthened academic support for multilingual students, especially dually-identified students

Key Sources¶

• Angela Johnson. (2020). Within-year achievement gains for English Learners. NWEA Research working paper. https://www.nwea.org/research/publication/within-year-achievement-gains-for-english-learners/