English Language Learners in a Standards-Based Reform


Substantial issues face the English Language Learner as states increasingly base educational policy decisions on standardized test scores, ostensibly as a means to effect educational reforms.  The issues are of crucial importance because it is often the performance of the English Language Learner on these "high stakes" tests which is politically scrutinized as indicators that support or deny the merit of bilingual education.  Aside from the challenges of a standardized test, the needs of the English Language Learner in the classroom figures prominently in any discussion of education reform.  Two states, in particular, are the focus of legislative and policy analyses: California and Texas.  These states share very similar demographics in that they have experienced significant growth in immigrant populations over roughly the same period of time.

There is a sizeable body of research, history, and analysis on the internet about this particular area of Bilingual Education.  And so toward that end of presenting an informative and comprehensive array of internet links, the following topic areas should direct you to sites you'll find most useful.
 


Bilingual Education History
 History of Bilingual Education in the United States
 

Bilingual Education Policy Analysis
 Court Rulings and Political Implications
 Federal and State Evolution of Policy
 Initiative Process and Voter Response
 Analysis, Impact, and Accountability
 

Research on Bilingual Education
 Language Acquisition
  Cognitive and other evaluative measures
  Psychometrics
  Current trends
 

Comparisons of Bilingual Pedagogy
 Immersion
 Partial Immersion
 Links to schools, districts, universities
 Partial Bilingual
 Public Response
 Other Pedagogical Approaches
 

California's Proposition 227: The Unz Initiative
 History
 Legal decisions
 Implementation
 Effect on current pedagogical methods
 

Organizations for Teachers of English Language Learners
 Language Organizations
 Teacher Organizations
 Links to Language Standards sites
 Standards Comparisons, Efficacy
 

Spanish Sites
 

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