Date of Award
2003
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Education
Department
Programs for Higher Education
Advisor
William R. Thayer
Committee Member
Donald Gainey
Committee Member
Barbara Packer
Committee Member
Claudia Santin
Keywords
academic achievement, achievement gap, bilingual education, bilingual education programs, district evaluation, educational research, elementary school, evaluation tools, field testing, grade 4 students, high school, language planning, limited English proficient students, Massachusetts, Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System, middle school, program evaluation, public school districts, regular education students, school administrators, second language instruction, second language learning, second language programs, student assessment, University of Maryland Scale of Scientific Methods, U.S. Department of Justice, variables, weighting and screening protocol
Abstract
An average of 43% of limited English proficient (LEP) students in Grade 4 failed the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System in spring 2001 compared to 6% of the regular education Grade 4 students within Massachusetts. The failure rate of LEP students should be at the same level or close to the same level as the failure rate of regular education students. Moreover, the achievement gap between regular and LEP students seems to increase from elementary school to middle school and on to high school.
This applied dissertation identified the variables that affect the academic achievement of LEP students through a review of research studies and through practitioner interviews. The research studies were closely analyzed for methodological rigor using the University of Maryland Scale of Scientific Methods, a weighting and screening protocol originally developed for use by the U.S. Department of Justice. Variables were identified, and an evaluation tool was created for school administrators to use in considering their current bilingual programs. The tool was field-tested in two Massachusetts public school districts to assist in evaluating the tool’s potential uses in identifying the variables in need of focus.
A variety of important variables for the implementation of quality bilingual programs were identified through analysis of the research and the interviews. When field-tested in two districts, the evaluation tool identified a variety of variables present or missing in the bilingual programs.