Bridging the English Learner Achievement Gap

In spite of decades of school reform, the achievement gap between English learners and English-proficient students has narrowed little. This book introduces the "Sustainability Framework"-a step-by-step process that will help educators at all levels increase school attendance and academic success for ELL students. This reform-navigation tool identifies patterns and trends in the deployment of a reform and subsequently allows leaders to make necessary adjustments to extend, accelerate, or terminate a given reform. Bridging the English Learner Achievement Gap offers a compelling, research-grounded way for schools with a substantial ELL population to successfully accommodate their students.

Ray Garcia is professor and chair of the Department of Educational Leadership at California State University, East Bay.

Preface	p. vii
Acknowledgments	p. xi
Educational Reform and the English Learner Achievement Gap: Minimal Impact to Show	p. 1
Evolving Makeup of Student Population	p. 3
Characteristics of English Learners	p. 5
Prevailing Student Achievement Gap	p. 7
The Six Challenges of English Learner Programming	p. 11
Understanding School Reform: The Sustainability Framework	p. 17
Understanding Reform	p. 18
Systemic Reform Distortion	p. 20
Waves of Educational Reform	p. 25
A Brief History of Failed Reforms	p. 28
Introduction to the Sustainability Framework	p. 29
The Loosely Linked Trinity: English Learner Identification, Program Placement, and Redesignation	p. 36
English Learner Identification	p. 38
Placement	p. 44
Redesignation	p. 47
Long-Term English Learners	p. 50
Sustainability Indicator: Instructional Leadership	p. 52
The Fallacy Behind English Learner Assessment: The Elephant in the Room	p. 55
Language Proficiency Assessment	p. 58
Standardized Assessment of Academic Language	p. 61
Assessment and the School Improvement Process	p. 65
Sustainability Indicator: Alignment	p. 67
Flexible Program Options: The Pathway out of the EL Ghetto	p. 73
The Status of English Learner Programming	p. 76
The Equity Issue: Access to Core Curriculum	p. 86
Lost in the Mainstream	p. 90
Sustainability Indicator: Teacher Commitment	p. 92
Research-Based Instructional Strategies: Enough Is Known to Make a Difference	p. 96
Building Background Knowledge	p. 98
Academic Vocabulary Instruction	p. 102
Language Development in Content-Area Teaching	p. 105
Sustainability Indicator: Sustained Professional Development	p. 109
Coherent Literacy Strategy: Gateway to English Learner Academic Success	p. 115
The English Learner Literacy Challenge	p. 117
Second Language Literacy	p. 122
Literacy Building Blocks	p. 125
Sustainability Indicator: Teacher Retention	p. 128
Building School Capacity for English Learner Success: Avoiding the Permanent Dead-End	p. 132
Intellectual Capacity	p. 135
Resource Utility	p. 137
Organizational Development	p. 141
Sustainability Indicator: School Capacity	p. 144
A Comprehensive Model for English Learner Instructional Improvement: Mapping a Course of Action	p. 148
Understanding Change as a Process	p. 150
A Comprehensive Model for English Learner Instructional Improvement	p. 151
Final Thoughts	p. 160
References	p. 163
Index	p. 181
About the Author	p. 196
Table of Contents provided by Ingram. All Rights Reserved.

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Bridging the English Learner Achievement Gap

Summary

Author Biography

Table of Contents

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