Bilingual education: past, present, future  (Page 3/6)

Identifying students for Bilingual Education begins upon enrollment into the public school. When a student enrolls in school, the parents are asked to complete a Home Language Survey. If a language other than English is written anywhere on the survey, the students English language skills will be assessed. If the student does not score fluent, he or she will be “reclassified” as LEP (or more recently, English Language Learner, ELL). Any student that has been identified as LEP is eligible for bilingual or ESL services. At the secondary level, bilingual is typically not offered and therefore students are eligible for ESL service. Native language proficiency for transfer of knowledge and skills is assumed.

There is no legal guidance given to educators as to when or how to transition a student from Spanish to English. Therefore, the curriculum across the state for LEP students varies greatly, depending on the philosophy of the school district. A student is no longer classified as Limited English Proficient when they achieve fluent English proficiency and demonstrate academic proficiency by passing the Reading and Writing portions of the TAKS in English (grades 3-12). They are permitted to remain in the bilingual program in some districts; however, the schools do not receive funding for the student. Students who enter the program in PRE-K, Kindergarten, or First Grade cannot be reviewed for possible exit until the Second Grade, where they must score in the fortieth percentile or above on a state approved, standardized test.

Accountability for immigrant learners is a present concern for educators and will continue to be in the future. Nationally, the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act has mandated several objectives with regard to Limited English Proficient students. NCLB mandates include the development of instructional benchmarks defining the language proficiency LEP students should attain; inclusion of LEP students and disabled students in the academic assessments required of all other students; and assessment of LEP students, providing reasonable accommodations in language to yield accurate and reliable information about student progress in meeting state standards.

Texas has already made great efforts toward the accomplishment of the mandates. The state requires that all immigrant students take the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills (TAKS) and Reading Proficiency Tests in English (RPTE) tests. Recent immigrants may be exempted from the TAKS test during the first three years in the U.S.; however, there are strict guidelines that dictate the exemption of a student. The RPTE, on the other hand, is required by all Limited English Proficient students in the state of Texas. Students are administered the RPTE annually until they achieve a level of Advanced.

When analyzing the TAKS results in the state of Texas, there are three main subgroups that are performing noticeably lower than the rest. Results of the TAKS in the spring of 2003 indicate that of all White students tested, 92% met the minimum standard set by the state. On the other hand, Limited English Proficient (LEP) students had the lowest success with only 68% meeting the minimum standard. Closely behind the LEP population is the African-American subgroup with 77%, and the economically disadvantaged subgroup with 78% meeting the minimum standards (2003). Although the success of these three subgroups has increased significantly over the past 10 years, the achievement gap has not yet narrowed to a satisfactory level. With the new implications of No Child Left Behind, it is crucial that the curriculum affecting these lower performing subgroups receive adequate attention and improvements that will result in future academic success.