English language learners are a diverse and fast-growing segment of the student population in the United States. Faced with the double challenge of keeping up with grade-level content while learning English as a new language in a new culture, many of them struggle. This article presents data from a three-phase qualitative study designed to learn…

This study investigates and compares American and Chinese secondary students' science achievement, their attitudes toward science, and other factors influencing science learning. The subjects, in Grades 7-12, include Chinese students (N=495) and American students (N=469). A survey of attitudes towards science developed by the authors was employed…