‘‘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.