School systems that track students into certain classes and academic programs based on ability end up worsening disparities between high and low performers, according to a far-ranging report that offers recommendations for improving education across Europe. The study, commissioned by a branch of the European Union (EU), also found that bilingual…

This report presents an evaluation of the Bilingual Readiness for Achieving through Valued Opportunities (Project BRAVO), an Elementary and Secondary Education Act Title VII-funded project in its first year of operation at Boys and Girls High School in Brooklyn (New York) and Louis D. Brandeis High School in Manhattan (New York). Participating…

A 3-year pilot bilingual program based on the Manitoba curriculum was evaluated to determine the degree to which program objectives had been achieved. The program uses Ukrainian as the language of instruction for 100% of the time in kindergarten and for 50% of the time in grades 1 and 2. The study investigated the following: (1) the extent to…

Describes a longitudinal evaluation of two approaches to educating language-minority students--transitional bilingual education and a new approach, bilingual immersion. Students achievement on the Iowa Tests of Basic Skills was traced from grades four through seven, and results indicated significant effects favoring bilingual immersion in language…

Argues, on the basis of research carried out in Canada and Belgium, that not only does the formal learning of the ancestral language in school enhance the overall cognitive abilities of immigrant children but also constitutes the optimal means by which such children can gain literacy in the dominant language. (37 references) (MDM)

This report provides information on the program for students with limited English proficiency (LEP) in school year 2000-2001 as well as historical information. Specifically, this report discusses the following topics: (1) staffing patterns and instruction to implement the program; (2) enrollment patterns of students who have participated in the…

The Basque Country in Spain has seen a resurgence in the Basque language (Euskara) and support for bilingualism and bilingual education. Two-thirds of students choose to learn in Euskara and fewer than one-third in Spanish. Schools using Euskara as the language of instruction are achieving better results. (SK)

The promise of dual language education has spurred a movement in the field of bilingual education to shift from remedial programs to enrichment forms of bilingual education. Although research supports the effectiveness of such programs, many programs do not maintain their level of implementation and quickly revert to their original remedial form.…

This paper analyses the difference in academic achievement between indigenous and nonindigenous children that attend rural primary schools in Guatemala. The gap ranges between 0.8 and 1 standard deviation in Spanish, and approximately half that in Mathematics. A decomposition procedure suggests that a relatively small portion of the achievement…

In England, government initiatives to recruit more ethnic minority teachers into mainstream schools have met with only limited success. One important reason for this may be that the factors that contribute to their distinctive professional skills and identities, and their potential to help raise the achievements of ethnic minority pupils, are not…

Discusses the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement's reading literacy study in Finland. Shows that, although language-minority students are often expected to have lower achievement in school, students from Swedish-speaking homes in Finland scored almost as well as their Finnish-speaking counterparts on extensive…

For new educators, the obstacles of high-stakes testing, curricular mandates, and their own inexperience and self-doubt can render teaching for justice and equity overwhelming, seemingly impossible ideals. However, as students are increasingly tied to prescriptive curricula and academic performance standards, the goals of social justice and…

The first two issues of this newsletter by the National Clearinghouse for Bilingual Education are presented. The first consists of an article on the United States Department of Education's Office of Bilingual Education and Minority Languages Affairs (OBEMLA) and its role in providing leadership in high quality education for linguistically and…

This article presents a meta-analysis of program effectiveness research on English language learners. The study includes a corpus of 17 studies conducted since Willig's earlier meta-analysis and uses Glass, McGaw, and Smith's strategy of including as many studies as possible in the analysis rather than excluding some on the basis of a priori…

An evaluation of a bilingual education program for first and second-grade children in an urban public school suggested that teaching them in their native language will cause higher achievement than expected and that classification of Spanish-speaking pupils based on standardized tests (in English) is invalid. (EH)