Keywords
Bilingual, English Language Learner, FCAT Reading, Language Acquisition, Standardized Testing, Florida Education, Multicultural
Abstract
The present study was conducted to investigate two English Language Learner programs in one Florida county and their implications for student achievement. The literature review showed that, as students progress through the educational system, the academic content becomes more and more abstract, forcing students to rely more heavily on their oral and written communication skills in English. Significant achievement gaps, sometimes extremely large, were also identified between English-only students and English Language Learner students. One study highlighted a 46% gap on the 2005 National Assessment of Education Progress (NAEP). The present study was designed to investigate 23 middle schools in one Florida county. The focus of the study was on two English Language Learner programs: Language Arts/ESOL and One-Way Developmental Bilingual Education. A total of 13 schools were identified that had implemented the Language Arts/ESOL program, and 10 middle schools were identified that had implemented the One-Way Developmental Bilingual Education program. The 2007 FCAT reading mean scale scores for the schools' 7th-grade English Language Learners were compared to those of standard curriculum students. For both English Language Learner programs, a statistical significance was found using t-tests. In addition, FCAT reading Levels 1-5 were investigated. At FCAT Levels 1-3, the Language Arts/ESOL program out-performed the One-Way Developmental Bilingual Education program. At FCAT Levels 4 and 5, the One-Way Developmental Bilingual Education program out-performed the Language Arts/ESOL program.
Notes
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Graduation Date
2008
Advisor
Murray, Barbara A.
Degree
Doctor of Education (Ed.D.)
College
College of Education
Department
Educational Research, Technology, and Leadership
Degree Program
Educational Leadership
Format
application/pdf
Identifier
CFE0002059
URL
http://purl.fcla.edu/fcla/etd/CFE0002059
Language
English
Release Date
June 2008
Length of Campus-only Access
None
Access Status
Doctoral Dissertation (Open Access)
STARS Citation
Marlow, Kimberly, "Closing The Achievement Gap For English Language Learners:a Comparison Of Language Arts/esol And One-way Developmental Bilingual" (2008). Electronic Theses and Dissertations. 3569.
https://stars.library.ucf.edu/etd/3569