The Basics
Some students enter the United States public school system without a firm command of the english language. These students are usual referred to as "ELL"s, English Language Learners, or as students with "LEP", Limited English Proficiency. They learn "ESL", or English as a second language.
According to the National Center for Education Statistics, ELLs made up 9.3% of public school students, or about 4.5 million children in the schoolyear 2013-14, up from 8.8% in 2003-04. [9]
The NSES also found that for that year, LEP students had a four-year graduation rate of 62.6%, lower than any racial or ethic group included in the survey, including "Hispanic" people, whose four-year graduation rate was 76.3%. For comparison, the overall four-year graduation rate was 82.3%. Transitioning from one language to another may involve unavoidable delays, but the graduation rate by state varied tremendously, with only 18.2% of ELLs in Arizona graduating within 4 years. [9]
What must not be forgotten is that ELLs represent an incredibly diverse group of students and there is simply no one-size-fits-all solution to educating them. This is not to say, however, that there are not startling flaws in our educational system relating to ELLs. Much more could (and has) been said about this issue, and this website is only meant to give a introduction to the types of issues facing ELLs today.
According to the National Center for Education Statistics, ELLs made up 9.3% of public school students, or about 4.5 million children in the schoolyear 2013-14, up from 8.8% in 2003-04. [9]
The NSES also found that for that year, LEP students had a four-year graduation rate of 62.6%, lower than any racial or ethic group included in the survey, including "Hispanic" people, whose four-year graduation rate was 76.3%. For comparison, the overall four-year graduation rate was 82.3%. Transitioning from one language to another may involve unavoidable delays, but the graduation rate by state varied tremendously, with only 18.2% of ELLs in Arizona graduating within 4 years. [9]
What must not be forgotten is that ELLs represent an incredibly diverse group of students and there is simply no one-size-fits-all solution to educating them. This is not to say, however, that there are not startling flaws in our educational system relating to ELLs. Much more could (and has) been said about this issue, and this website is only meant to give a introduction to the types of issues facing ELLs today.