Promoting Academic Achievement Among English Learners: A Guide to the Research

"Given the number of English learners already in our schools and the rate at which this population is growing, effectively educating language-minority students is one of the greatest challenges schools face. In this lucid, concise, and reader-friendly review of research, the authors present the information needed to create the strongest possible instructional programs."
―Michael F. Graves, Professor of Literacy Education, Emeritus
University of Minnesota

"The authors have done an exceptionally good job of capturing the major trends, differing perspectives, and many challenges in schooling English language learners while putting forth a vision for the immediate future that is solidly grounded in research and in current and evolving knowledge."
―Liliana Minaya-Rowe, Associate Researcher
Center for Data-Driven Reform
Johns Hopkins University

"A must-read for administrators, program developers, policy makers, and educators who make decisions about English language learners. Promoting Academic Achievement Among English Learners is a trustworthy source for determining what is known about providing the highest-quality educational services for language-minority students."
―Patricia G. Mathes, Texas Instruments Chair of Reading
Professor of Teaching and Learning
Southern Methodist University

Discover the research and facts on what works in educating English learners!

A generation or two ago, the achievement of children who came to school knowing little or no English was not a prominent national issue. Today, with the increased focus on school accountability and educational equity, it is.

This comprehensive resource explores the research on promoting academic success among language-minority students. The authors offer educators a firm basis for making decisions on policies and programs for English learners and provide research-based discussions on what we know about:

• Bilingual education and using a student′s home language in instruction
• Teaching English and academic content simultaneously
• School and district factors that affect achievement for English learners
• Sociocultural factors in success, including the influence of parents and families

 

Claude Goldenberg, a native of Argentina, is Professor of Education at Stanford University. He received his AB from Princeton University and PhD from UCLA′s Graduate School of Education. Goldenberg has taught junior high school in San Antonio, TX, and first grade in a bilingual elementary school in the Lennox School District near Los Angeles. Goldenberg was a National Academy of Education Spencer Fellow and a recipient (with Ronald Gallimore) of the Albert J. Harris Award from the International Reading Association. He was on the Committee for the Prevention of Early Reading Difficulties in Young Children (National Research Council) and the National Literacy Panel (NIH and U.S. Department of Education), which synthesized research on literacy development among language-minority children and youth. He is author of Successful School Change: Creating Settings to Improve Teaching and Learning (Teachers College, 2004). His research focuses on improving achievement for language minority students, particularly those from Latino backgrounds.

Rhoda Coleman is Senior Research Fellow and Professional Development Specialist at the Center for Language Minority Education and Research at California State University, Long Beach (CSULB). She received her BA and EdD from University of Southern California, has a master′s in Reading and Reading Specialist Credential from Loyola Marymount University, and a master′s in Administration from California State University, Los Angeles. Coleman taught elementary school in grades 1 through 6 for 29 years in the Lennox School District near Los Angeles where she taught EL students transitioning into English. She was then a Language Arts consultant for Los Angeles County Office of Education providing K-12 professional development to school districts throughout California and writing and producing over 25 teacher-training videos. She currently teaches in the teacher credential program at CSULB. Coleman was a California Teacher of the Year, recipient of the Milken National Educator Award, and California Social Studies Teacher of the Year.