Persistence in bilingual/ESL education and achievement in reading.

摘要

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between persistence in bilingual/ESL education and the reading achievement of Hispanic students at grade 8 and at grade 10 as measured by state-mandated examinations. The focus of this study was the reading achievement scores of: (1) Hispanic students who participated in the bilingual program and left after meeting exit standards, (2) Hispanic students who left the bilingual program prematurely and then received instruction in the monolingual program, and (3) Hispanic students who never received bilingual instruction (English/Spanish). All students were continuously enrolled in the same school district beginning at grade 1 through the required state examination at grade 10.; A statistically significant difference was present in the reading scores of Hispanic students with both the grade 8 and 10 assessments. Students who exited the bilingual/ESL program by meeting state exit standards outscored both the premature-exit students and students who never received bilingual/ESL instruction.