What Now For English Language Learners?

Needs of immigrant children go far beyond “adjustment” to No Child Left Behind Act

WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. English, Inc., the nation’s oldest and largest citizens action group dedicated to preserving the unifying role of English in the United States applauded the relaxation of mandatory testing issued as part of the No Child Left Behind Act. However, the 1.8 million member group warned that this should only be the first step in overhauling the manner in which English Language Learners (ELLs) are taught.

On Thursday, the Department of Education announced new regulations permitting the test results of ELLs in their first year in U.S. public schools to be excluded when judging a school’s performance. The move came amid growing criticism that the measure was placing test results above the more important issue of teaching English to immigrant children.

Mauro E. Mujica, Chairman of U.S. English applauded the move, but warned, “Mandatory testing may have been replaced, but the children who need to learn English are still there. Regardless of the changes to the No Child Left Behind Act, increasing the number of English proficient students should always be our goal.”

Statistics show that school districts are falling far behind in their efforts to assist immigrant children. Though 75 percent of foreign born parents believe public schools should teach English as quickly as possible, flawed bilingual education programs remain stuck in place in much of the nation. A recent report on English Language Learners in New York City schools found that only 3.7 percent of the city’s 134,000 students in bilingual education programs were able to transition into mainstream classes. Nationwide, nearly 5.5 million, or 12 percent of all K-12 students in the United States are English Language Learners.

Without English, the students face a long road ahead. Numerous studies have linked lack of English proficiency with less secure jobs, higher poverty levels and decreased opportunities for higher education. The Department of Education and Department of Labor have both found that workers who cannot speak English have half the earnings of English speaking and bilingual workers.

“There is nothing more important to the success of our future generations than the ability to communicate in English, our common language,” said Mujica. “We have more than 300 languages spoken in our schools. What will happen if these children are not given the opportunity to learn English?

“Hopefully by relaxing the testing standards, we can shift the debate toward programs that teach English effectively, such as English immersion. By ensuring that we can all speak one common language, we will truly leave no child behind.”

U.S. English, Inc. is the nation's oldest and largest non-partisan citizens' action group dedicated to preserving the unifying role of the English language in the United States. Founded in 1983 by the late Sen. S.I. Hayakawa of California, U.S. English, Inc. (www.usenglish.org) now has more than 1.8 million members.