Reflection # 6: Missing the (Student Achievement) Forest for All the (Political) Trees: Empiricism and the Mexican American Studies Controversy in Tucson

I really enjoyed reading this article, as I work with an ethnically diverse population of students.  In my own experience I have observed students' increased levels of interest when the topics apply directly to them, or reflect a student's culture and background.  I will use this study to hopefully influence some of the history courses and teaching topics within our high school to increase student involvement.

Missing the (Student Achievement) Forest for All the (Political) Trees: Empiricism and the Mexican American Studies Controversy in Tucson

Marx, R., Cabrera, N., Milem, J., & Jaquette, O. (2014). Missing the (Student Achievement) Forest for All the (Political) Trees: Empiricism and the Mexican American Studies Controversy in Tucson. American Education Research Journal, 1084-1118.


This study focused on the Mexican American Studies program that was implemented in the Tucson school district, and later dismantled.  The article focuses on the program's effectiveness in increasing student performance.  Many have found that when students are learning about topics that relate directly to their lives, they are validated and thus preform better in all academic areas.  This study had set out to find if this was a valid theory.

The study found that MAS students generally out-performed their non-MAS peers in the areas of AIMS test scores and graduation rates.  This was counter-intuitive, as many of these students had lower GPAs earlier in their high school career, and then excelled in their junior and senior years while taking the ethnic studies course, surpassing the students who had higher GPAs consistently throughout high school.  The evidence overwhelmingly supports the implementation of certain ethnic studies programs in schools with diverse student populations, especially underperforming students.

The findings move many to hold their own ethnic studies courses, similar to the Mexican American Studies class of interest.  This is a tricky undertaking, as many schools and instructors are not prepared to take on such classes that may include controversial and touchy topics.  Instructors need to be very well prepared to teach such a class and start with a small-scale plan.

Reflection #5: ‘‘I’m Not Going to Be, Like, for the AP’’: English Language Learners’ Limited Access to Advanced College-Preparatory Courses in High School

I found this article to be particularly interesting.  Not many people really delve into the issues of ELLs not accessing the AP classes.  I particularly found this article helpful in my situation, as I feel our students have been underestimated for quite some time.  I have a senior graduating high school with Algebra 1 his highest level of math, making him very upset, as he wanted more out of his high school education, but we failed to set him up for success.  These situations we put students in are many times completely unfair and inappropriate but seems like the easiest fix at the time.  I know scheduling my students has been a huge struggle; we are working with a schedule that offers a specific math class only once throughout the day, making it necessary to plan around that class entirely.

With all of the challenges we face in scheduling students, we, the counselors and advisors need to work hard to schedule students into appropriate classes, as we are the determining factor.  Students and parents rarely disagree with recommendations, so we need to challenge students, keep them engaged, and keep them interested in learning more.

‘‘I’m Not Going to Be, Like, for the AP’’: English Language Learners’ Limited Access to Advanced College-Preparatory Courses in High School

Kanno, Y., & Kangas, S. (2014). ‘‘I’m Not Going to Be, Like, for the AP’’: English Language Learners’ Limited Access to Advanced College-Preparatory Courses in High School.American Education Research Journal, 51(5), 848-878. Retrieved November 22, 2014.

This study dives into the complex issue of English Learners in the secondary environment.  The main focus is to answer the question of why English Learners have such limited access to advanced classes.  This may seem obvious: their English is not advanced enough to participate in mainly discussion-based classes, but the issue has much deeper roots.  

To begin with, instructors at the secondary level need to ensure that their students are college-ready.  It has been found that this simply does not happen, as students who are new to English have very limited schedules which include pre-determined classes.  Students need to take all required credits, plus English Language classes, leaving little time for advanced classes or classes specific to their interests.  When students have such limited time in the day, they are bound to miss out on higher-level courses.  

Also, ELLs have been tracked to a tragic degree across this country. "Representation patterns in tracking also emerge for ELLs. Callahan’s (2005) study of a large rural high school in California found that fewer
than 2% of ELLs took the set of courses that would make them eligible for admissions to four-year colleges."  Students lack of access to higher-level classes affects their interaction with more complex texts, academic language, and higher-level thinking tasks, such as class discussions around ideas.  Classroom environments differ between high-track and low-track classrooms.  While higher-track classroom teachers typically have a very close relationship with students, lower-track classroom teachers usually spend more time on classroom behavior, depleting that time to form the very important student-teacher relationship.

This study focused on ELLs in a large, suburban school.  They narrowed the sample down to 8 students, as the students was longitudinal, and required 1) high achieving students and 2) students with the desire to go on to college.  At Brighton High School, about 15.2% of all seniors typically take at least one AP course, but none of the 46 ELL seniors were taking an AP course, leading to the investigation as to why.

The main conclusions involved "recommended classes," lack of differentiation, a low habitus on the part of the student, and parents and students almost always acquiescing to the schools' class recommendation.  
Once students exit the ELL sheltered classes, they are immediately directed into remedial classes, from which they can go to another remedial class or a regular class, from which they may go to another regular or advanced class, then honors level, and only then would they have the option to move on to AP classes.  As we know, high school is only four years, lacking sufficient time to make one's way through all of these levels.  These students start out at a disadvantage, and sadly their counselors and teachers often "protect" the students by placing them in a class that will not be too difficult for them.  Once placed in a remedial or regular classroom (science for example), ELLs often adjust their expectations and may lose their high levels of motivation they originally had.  Furthermore, the study mentions that it seems to be harder to change the ways of AP teachers specifically, because they hold a very high, consistent standard to their students.   

In addition to this, students and parents almost always acquiesced to the schools recommendation.  Students seemed to be unaware that they had any say in the classes they were enrolled in.  Students did not question the counselor's decision, and did not speak up when they disliked a class, indicating that ELL students had a low level of confidence, feeling that they were not in control of these issues.  Parents also usually agreed with whatever was recommended, without questioning class choices.  The article also spoke to the students' habitus, which "involves an unconscious calculation of what is possible, impossible, and probable for individuals in their specific location in a stratified order" (Swartz, 1997, pp. 106-107).  Students were found to have a diminished habitus, telling them that certain opportunities, such as scholarships and high-track courses were unavailable to them simply because it wasn't a possibility for them.  Students weren't disappointed by not being accepted, because they never considered themselves eligible, which was the most telling finding of the study.

This study was an insightful look not into teaching techniques, but as to why ELLs aren't enrolling in higher level courses.  The reasons found are largely a confidence issue and tracking issues; we need to work harder to increase confidence in these students and working to individualize students courses.  

Reflection #4

After reading "Secondary Teacher Attitudes Toward Including English-Language Learners in Mainstream Classrooms," I realized that providing PD to my peers may not necessarily by an easy task.  This article brings up the great point that many teachers are simply too overloaded with the basic duties of being a teacher to listen to professional development that may ask more of them.  

Another finding was that teachers may have a negative attitude towards any type of training or PD.  We have all sat through useless trainings many times, in which we hear things we already know, and wish we could have been actually getting some work done.  If I provide PD for my staff, I need to keep this in mind and work to make the trainings fun, useful, and directly applicable to our situation.

Secondary Teacher Attitudes Toward Including English-Language Learners In Mainstream Classrooms

Reeves, J. (2006).  Secondary Teacher Attitudes Toward Including English-Language Learners In Mainstream Classrooms.  The Journal of Educational Research, 99(3), 131-143.  Retrieved October 30, 2014, from JSTOR Journals.

This article focuses on teacher attitudes towards including English Learners in the mainstream classroom, modifying materials for ELLs, and professional development in the area of teaching English Learners.

The research suggested that teachers experience anxiety about ELLs in the classroom because it may increase their workload, they may not have enough time to serve the students well, and that teachers may feel inadequately qualified to teach these students,  The literature review also demonstrated that many teachers either don't know how, don't have time, or aren't willing to make accommodations necessary to facilitate appropriate tasks in the classroom.  Over 70% of teachers felt they "did not have enough time to deal with the needs of ESL students" (136).  This finding is huge in that it displays how overwhelmed teachers feel.  The preliminary study implied that teachers weren't interested in gaining more knowledge (in a small study), as the felt they were already able to teach all types of students.

When asked if teachers would welcome English Learners into their classroom, 72% agreed and 24% disagreed, while only 64% of teachers felt that including ELLs into the classroom was beneficial and created a positive atmosphere and 23% disagreed.  At the same time, a significant number of teachers reported that they did not necessarily feel that including ELLs was in the best interest of all students.  
In terms of modifications, a majority of teachers did not want students to perceive "unfair" treatment (if an ELL had a modified assignment).  It was also found that teachers did not want to decrease rigor, but know that the language is a problem. This could indicate that teachers simply do not know how to modify assignments correctly.  A majority of teachers felt unprepared or unqualified to work with ELLs (80%), but about half of these teachers were not interested in receiving more training.

When it comes to teachers' understanding of language acquisition, 39% thought that students should discontinue native-language use while in school, and 71% felt that students should be able to acquire English within 2 years in the U.S.  Both of these ideas are widely known as inaccurate, with much research behind the process of language acquisition

The most important findings of this study were that a discrepancy exists between teachers general attitudes toward ELL inclusion and specific aspects of teaching ELLs, teachers were concerned about equitability between students when modifications were made, teachers seemed ambivalent towards professional development, and teachers hold misperceptions on language development.

The study also found that with the combined lack of training and no extra planning time, teachers may experience feelings of inadequacy and even resentment when needing to work with beginners.

The article also notes that it appears teachers want to be positive and inclusive, but that their reality is not this simple.  Managing a mixed-ability and mixed-language classroom is difficult, and takes careful planning within the school and classroom.

Reflection #3

While reading Teacher Professional Development to Improve Sciences and Literacy Achievement of English Language Learners I became very aware of what type of professional development the teachers in my school may need.  I will be focusing on how I can best help teachers in general education classrooms serve English Learners, thus this article was very insightful.  It emphasized content area professional development.  It does seem somewhat natural for PD within the science, math, or social sciences departments to be held separately, because language functions much differently in each area, but I hadn't thought of grouping PD in this manner.  I was thinking of doing some SIOP professional development with the entire staff, but now I am re-thinking the time, place, and setting of this opportunity.  I could possibly do some work with staff during their department meetings.  Very exciting!

Teacher Professional Development to Improve Science and Literacy Achievement of English Language Learners

Lee, O., Buxton, C. (2013).  Teacher Professional Development to Improve Science and Literacy Achievement of English Language Learners. Theory Into Practice, 52 (2), 110-117. Retrieved October 22, 2014, from Education Resources Education Center.


This article discusses the teaching of science, specifically, to English Learners.  It first covers science teachers' current knowledge of practices in teaching science, current professional development in this area, best practices for teaching science to ELs, and current policies relating to teaching science to ELLs.  
First of all, the school-aged population in the U.S. has been increasingly diverse in culture and language throughout the past 20 years.  According to the National Center for Education Statistics, "the number of school-age children (5-17) who spoke a language other than English at home rose from 4.7 to 11.2 million between 1989 and 2009, or from 10% to 21% of the population in this age range" (111).  English Learners are charged with the responsibility of learning a new language and content simultaneously, which can be overwhelming for students.  Teachers, consequently, are required to teach content and language in their content classes.  As Lee and Buxton note, "a majority of teachers working with ELLS believe that they are not adequately prepared to meet their students' content-specific learning needs (Janzen, 2008; Lee, 2005)" (111).  This demonstrates the need for professional development of general education teachers.  

Lee and Buxton report that teachers "need a conceptual understanding of the subject matter they are required to teach."  Teachers should activate prior knowledge, and utilize inquiry practices and encourage questions.  The article notes five domains in which effective teachers support ELs.  These include content area literacy strategies, language support, discourse with ELs, home language support, and cultural connections.  

In terms of professional development, the article discusses core features including content focus, active learning, coherence, sufficient duration, and collective participation.  The most influential PD included development that was relevant to specific content areas, and included active learning, planning, and discussion among a department, but was also part of a larger, coherent school-wide plan for ELs.  This professional development should also span a sufficient amount of time and include teachers from the same school, department, or grade level, emphasizing common goals, instructional materials, and a healthy exchange of ideas.  

Lastly, national educational policy surrounding science has often been unclear.  Students are required to take high-stakes tests in the areas of math and English, but science is often left unmeasured.  Currently, policy shifts are taking place, but the outcomes are uncertain.  The new Next Generation Science Standards will have unknown policy implications.  In order for ELs to have sufficient AYP in these new measures, they will need to have instruction that teaches content and language simultaneously, asking much more of our instructors.  With this challenge ahead, much more research is necessary to find the needed solutions, practices, and methods to teach science effectively to English Learners.

Reflection #2: ELL Structures for the Classroom

I found this article interesting and a bit heart-breaking, but did not gain much new information.  Many of the structural assets and roadblocks embedded in a school system were predictable. 

I do, however like the idea of interviewing students and putting ELLs in the position of the “expert.” I would like to incorporate this into my study design by putting student opinion and sense of value at the forefront of the design. 

Also, I feel like passing on these “predictable” bits of information and advice for classroom teachers would be repetitive, if not even insulting to teachers.  I definitely struggle with providing professional advice for my colleagues, whom I deeply respect, but at times fall short when instructing our ELLs.  We are a very small staff, and my “Minnesota Nice” demeanor makes it difficult for me to deliver ideas/suggestions without feeling that I am insulting a person.  For example, when I read about the student who felt completely isolated when asked to choose a partner, I wanted to email all staff with a  reminder on this topic.  These are touchy issues, but my staff does need these reminders.  Striking the balance in delivering the information is essential.

Examining the Structures That Impact English Language Learners' Agency in Urban High Schools: Resources and Roadblocks in the Classroom

Wassell, B., Hawrylak, M., & Lavan, S. (2010). Examining the Structures That Impact English       Language Learners' Agency in Urban High Schools: Resources and Roadblocks in the Classroom. Education and Urban Society, 42(5), 599-619.

This study interviewed and examined the experience of 14 former ELLs that had been accepted into an ESL bridge program at the state university in the Northeast.  It describes what structures work for ELLs in the general education high school setting, as well as what is prohibitive.  The study focuses on agency, described as “an actor’s power that originates from awareness of schema or control of resources” (Wassell, Hawrylak,  & Lavan,  2010, p. 603).

According to this qualitative study, the first “problem” with ELLs is exactly that - a perceived problem of deficiency; whether it is linguistic, educational, or cultural, students are frequently viewed as their deficiency, rather than what the student is capable of.  Also, students are all too often stereotyped as having similar backgrounds, when in all actuality every student’s story is extremely different. 

Some of the structures the article discusses that can empower students to act for themselves include space, time, and caring.  First, space represents spaces in which teachers can have one-on-one contact with students to practice English, receive encouragement, and receive alternative resources; it may also represent space for students to build relationships with their peers.  The structure of time implies that students need more time to acquire the language.  Effective teachers provided extra time to meet with students before school, after school, or during lunch or breaks.  Lastly, caring was found to have a profound effect on students’ education.  Many students interviewed reported a crippling fear about their new environments and academic pressures, as well as fear of speaking English.  The teachers who really reached the students provided structures to show that they cared about the student.  For example, some teachers spent 10 minutes a day with the student, inquired about their home country, and worked with the student on their academics.  The most effective teachers formed bonds and trust with the students.

This article also discussed roadblocks to student success.  Students in this study reported receiving little instruction that was challenging enough.  Another barrier reported was students’ encountering teachers who did not allow them to speak their native language in class.  Students need to be able to communicate in a familiar way to reinforce ideas and clarify ideas.  Similarly, it can be very damaging when teachers say, “choose a partner,” though it is something educators do regularly.  Students interviewed all seemed to have the same view on this situation.  Not only does the situation isolate the student, at times leaving him or her alone, but it takes away a great peer-communication opportunity.  This scenario leaves the student less confident, and without the intended content.  Another hindrance for ELLs is that many teachers do not feel empathy for newly arrived students, and have little understanding of the hardships and home situations students live with.  For example, Eduardo, one of the study participants said:

“scared of being the person that everyone would like laugh at me because everybody in the room that speak English…..My parent was working like twelve hours a day…. So I was alone. And I wanted to go back to my country.  I think that I was discouraged that everybody was going to laugh when I talk.” (Wassell, Hawrylak,  & Lavan,  2010, p. 611).

In addition, teachers’ lack of intervention when students ridicule another student’s English ability may multiply this feeling of embarrassment.  Though educators cannot control behavior and ridicule outside of the classroom, it is extremely important for the teachers to create an environment that is inclusive and safe.  By not speaking in class due to fear, students had a diminished opportunity to participate in cooperative learning activities, ask questions, or discuss content with teachers and classmates, which ultimately stunts learning and English acquisition.

The article suggests a brining in a panel of former ELL high school students to serve as experts during a school’s in-service week.  The former students have been shown to provide much useful information for teachers; they are able to share their high school experience in detail and answer any questions teachers may have.  I hope to use current and former ELL students to inform my research and act as the “experts” I look to for guidance as to structure and strategy that works for them. 

Reflection #1

As I read "A Longitudinal Analysis of Academic English Proficiency Outcomes for Adolescent English Language Learners in the United States," I could see many patterns I have observed here in Telluride High School.  The article spoke to generational differences between ELLs and achievement.  In the end, it seemed that foreign-born and U.S.-born students achieved a similar proficiency in academic English (reading, writing, speaking, and listening), but the way that they arrived at proficiency was very different.

Many students who have been in the U.S. for years (more than six) appear to reach this ceiling that is not yet a proficient level of English, but "good enough" for their daily activities and conversational English.  Students' acheiving conversational English is great, and is a large improvement in quality of life, but this new found confidence may stunt academic growth.  

I have witnessed students learning conversational English so quickly that they become over-confident with their language abilities, and stop striving to learn more.  When a student thinks that there is no more to learn, that they can get by with what they need, we have a real problem in terms of preparing students for higher education and ensuring a quality high school experience.  A lack of academic English questions how much a high school student actually learned in high school and how meaningful his/her high school diploma actually is.  It will prove troublesome when students want to get into college or higer learning.  Students will have difficulties with entrance testing, and then most likely continue to have trouble in the higher learning environment.

The most troubling part of this article, though, is that the lack of academic English proficiency will affect the rest of a young person's life.  If students don't learn necessary grade level vocabulary, they may become overwhelmed and never keep up, or even worse - drop out.  One explanation for a lack of effort put forth was simply that the task was hard, and it was easier for students to "fit in" with other low-achieving students of a similar socio-economic situation.  

I really hope that I empower students with the ability to take on difficult high school classes, and let them know how important it is to keep achieving higher. I want my students to know that nothing is impossible when a person really, truly wants it.

A Longitudinal Analysis of Academic English Proficiency Outcomes for Adolescent English Language Learners in the United States

Slama, R. (2012). A Longitudinal Analysis of Academic English Proficiency Outcomes for Adolescent English Language Learners in the United States. Journal of Educational Psychology, 104(2), 265-285.

This study focuses on ELL’s ability to acquire academic English in the adolescent ages.  The study looks closer at generational status of ELL’s, determining if the student in question is a first, second, or third generation immigrant.  Students’ generational status has an effect on language learning, as it shapes the students’ linguistic and school experiences (Goldenberg, Rueda, & August, 2006).  It is estimated that students should be able to acquire conversational English iwthin 3-5 years of arrival, while academic English will take 4-7 years to develop proficiency.  Many students never achieve proficiency in this area, and this is one of the most disturbing facts of this study.  Sadly, U.S. born ELLs will likely have spent 9 years in our school systems without having developed enough academic English to keep up with their grade-level peers. 

An interesting finding was that U.S. born students’ academic English levels started out higher at the beginning of ninth grade, grew, and either plateaued by twelfth grade, or curved back downward.  Foreign-born ELLs’ progress started lower, but grew faster, and didn’t have such a downward spiral toward students’ senior year of high school.  Explanations for foreign-born ELLs perceived faster growth in academic language could include higher motivation, more developed first language skills, or higher educational priority in the family.  This finding supported earlier evidence that at times, U.S. born ELLs may arrive at a feeling of helplessness and inability to achieve, while newer immigrant students may maintain a sense of upward mobility through education in the United States.  Although we have seen faster growth with foreign-born students, their end-of-high school academic English is about even with students born in the U.S.

The overall picture is that the outlook for ELLs, both foreign-born and U.S. born, is bleak.  Students’ inability to acquire academic English can lead to a whole host of problems that lead the student’s life in a downward spiral.  First of all, low levels of academic English is learning prohibitive in the mainstream classroom, and puts much more work on the students’ shoulder.  This can result in students zoning out in class when they are not understanding, giving up on the class, or even dropping out.  Next, continued enrollment in specialized language classes throughout secondary school may eliminate time for post-secondary readiness, or higher level courses necessary to further education after high school. Students participating in mainstream classes, but not understanding the content, receive less meaningful diplomas, as we can’t be sure the content was actually comprehensible.  Lastly, students may not be able to pass exit exams, or perform well on an ACT tests.

Large percentages of U.S. born ELLs enter middle and high school with inadequate levels of academic English skills, and the article suggests that these students could have spent anywhere from 6-12 years in specialized language programs and still haven’t achieved proficiency in the area of academic English.  These are the students who cause the most concern because they are receiving targeted language instruction, but aren’t progressing into the mainstream setting and out of the ELL designation. 

A Year of Exploration!

I have used blogs for many purposes: as a reflection tool, a teaching tool, and as a way to cope with everyday life.  Now this blog will become my tool for staying focused, researching, and sharing information with my classmates and instructors at Western State University.

I returned to school 4 years ago to pursue a life of teaching after teaching English in South America.  I am back again to finish up my Master's Degree in Reading Leadership, and can't wait to publish all I learn and successfully finish my capstone project.  Here I will share my thoughts and new discoveries related to reading and ELL sciences.  These are not easy things to teach at the high school level, but I hope to increase my knowledge and skill set this semester here in Telluride, CO.