This annotated bibliography is reformatted and customized by the Center for Positive Practices. Some of the authors featured on this page include Gary Burnett, Grace Ibanez Friedman, Glenn Gritzer, Sacramento Intersegmental Coordinating Council, Donna Plotkin, Andrew Clark, Juneau. Alaska State Dept. of Education, Francis X. Sutman, Chicago National Opinion Research Center, and Zierlein Aclan.
(1980). High School and Beyond: Language File Code Book. High School and Beyond is a national longitudinal study of the cohorts of 1980 high school seniors and sophomores in the United States, intended to provide information through the early adulthood of these students. The Language File contains data on each student who responded that he or she had experience in a language other than English in the High School and Beyond base year survey in 1980. It includes 11,303 records with information on: (1) childhood languages; (2) current language spoken; (3) the most important language; (4) number of languages used; (5) English or non-English comprehension; and (6) use of non-English language at home. Data are also presented on whether students received instruction in elementary and secondary schools for students for whom English is not the primary language, as well as whether they took cultural history courses related to the primary language. The questionnaire contained 23 questions, with 42 variables for each student. The codebook provides information to aid in the use of this data. For each questionnaire item, the question and response categories are printed along with the frequency count for the total subset of students. The question numbers from the sophomore and senior identification pages are also included. Sample items are provided that contain the original question number, variable identifier, variable label, and tape position of specific pieces of information. The complete questionnaire is provided. [More] Descriptors: Bilingual Education Programs, Databases, English (Second Language), Grade 10
(1990). Computer-Focused Russian Bilingual Instructional Program, 1988-89. OREA Report. In its fourth year, the computer-Focused Russian Bilingual Instructional Program provided instructional and support activities to 276 Russian-speaking students, most of whom are limited English proficient, at 4 public and 2 private high schools in Brooklyn. Instructional activities varied by site. Public school students took English as a Second Language (ESL), native language arts (NLA) courses in Russian culture and literature, and content area (mathematics, science, and social studies) and business and vocational subjects taught bilingually or in English using ESL methodology. At private schools, the project offered individual and small-group tutorials in English and content areas. Additional program components included counseling, tutoring, vocational services, staff development, and parental involvement activities. The program met its objectives in ESL, NLA, content area subjects, and parental involvement, but did not provide sufficient data to assess the computer skills and student attitudes objectives. The project was found to be successful in providing English and native language instruction to recent Russian immigrants and in directly involving their parents or grandparents in activities. [More] Descriptors: Bilingual Education Programs, Business Education, Computer Literacy, Counseling Services
(1989). Bilingual Language Arts Survival Training: Project BLAST, 1987-88. OREA Evaluation Report. Project Bilingual Language Arts Survival Training (BLAST) served 254 Spanish-speaking 9th- through 12th-graders at Walton High School in the Bronx in its fifth year of funding. The program's aim was to supplement the school's bilingual program by providing instruction in English as a Second Language (ESL), native language arts (NLA) and culture, and bilingual instruction in math, science, and social studies. The program also provided extracurricular activities, career orientation, college counseling, coping skills and citizenship training, parent involvement, and staff development activities. The program met the objectives in ESL, NLA, and student attendance. It also met most of its objectives in parental involvement, staff development, and curriculum development. Content area classes were not evaluated as proposed. Program changes over the previous year include a larger population, budget cuts leading to shortages of materials and modified objectives, separate classes for native and non-native Spanish-speakers, hiring of fully bilingual content area teachers, increased parent involvement activities, and development of career awareness and computer literacy curricula. There was also a high dropout rate as students took jobs because of economic needs. It is recommended that BLAST staff should be relieved of time-consuming building assignments; that staff and counselors should try to reach consensus on when students should be mainstreamed; and that the project should supply data needed for evaluation. [More] Descriptors: Academic Advising, Attendance, Bilingual Education Programs, Career Exploration
(1989). California's Limited English Language Students: An Intersegmental Agenda. A Report to the Intersegmental Coordinating Council from the Curriculum and Assessment Cluster Committee. This document was prepared to promote the development of policies at the school, college, and university levels that ensure that students learn English at the levels required to benefit optimally from their studies. It presents statewide demographic data on California's limited English language speaking students and recommendations for future curriculum planning. The first sections present background on California's non-native English population, including statewide demographics, school data, and economic and workplace data. These sections indicate that an estimated 5% of California's population is limited in their English proficiency and a projected 250,000 foreign immigrants are expected to enter California annually through the year 2000. The number of K-12 students classified as Limited English Proficiency (LEP) was 652,439 in 1988, approximately double the 1980 number. Between 1977 and 1987, Hispanic student enrollment in the state's community colleges increased from 8.8% to 15%, and Asian student enrollment increased from 4.7% to 9.7%. In fall 1987, the overall freshmen pass-rate on the California State University's English Placement Test was 43.5%, but only 28.6% for Hispanic freshmen and 19.6% for Asian freshmen. The bulk of the report consists of recommendations for an intersegmental English as a Second Language (ESL) Agenda. These recommendations focus on: (1) expectations of freshman language competencies; (2) standards for student language performance levels; (3) coordinated and articulated assessment policies; (4) issues in the assignment of baccalaureate credit and intersegmental transfer; (5) visibility and status of programs for LEP students; (6) in-service and pre-service preparation of all California to teach LEP students; and (7) statewide priorities and planning. [More] Descriptors: Articulation (Education), Bilingual Education Programs, College Students, Educational Needs
(1990). Making a Difference for the Bilingual Child: How One District Achieved its Goals. The Students of Limited English Proficiency (SLEP) program of the Honolulu School District (Hawaii) is designed to help the large number of limited-English-speaking immigrants adjust to the American culture in the Hawaiian setting by acquiring basic communication skills for regular classroom participation and school activities. The program is implemented in 54 schools with over 60 permanent teachers, 10 educational assistants, and over 80 part-time teachers. Students are selected for participation and exit based on language dominance and proficiency ratings. Program components include: (1) a whole language approach emphasizing communication skills; (2) a comprehensive database containing achievement status and diagnostic data, norm-referenced, criterion-referenced, and non-test; (3) a program implementation checklist and quality control system; (4) an extensive staff development program; and (5) a survival skills segment for newly-arrived immigrants. Specific learner objectives include: making significant gains in oral language, reading, language arts, and mathematics; adjusting to school and community, and exiting the program at the 25th percentile or higher on a standardized achievement test. Evaluation of the program began only in 1985, with an extensive effort to develop a longitudinal database for student tracking, to initiate a quality monitoring process, and to implement systematic program evaluation. [More] Descriptors: Acculturation, Admission Criteria, Behavioral Objectives, Bilingual Education Programs
(1990). Methodologies of Bilingual Instruction in Literacy Education. Project Mobile, 1988-89. OREA Report. In its second year, Methodologies of Bilingual Instruction in Literacy Education (Project MOBILE) provided 373 students of limited English proficiency, native speakers of Spanish and Haitian Creole, with supplementary English as a Second Language (ESL), native language arts (NLA), and content-area instruction. Project MOBILE stressed the acquisition of English and development of mathematics and computer skills through computer use. The project also provided staff and curriculum development activities and basic skills courses for parents, and met its objectives in ESL, computer science, and curriculum development. It met one staff development objective, and partially met content area objectives. Lack of data made assessment of objectives impossible in the areas of Spanish NLA, attendance, grade retention, referral to remedial programs and special education, staff awareness of pupil problems and needs, placement in programs for the gifted and talented and in postsecondary institutions, and parent involvement. Recommendations for program improvement include allocation of appropriate space for a resource and computer center at one site, and continued efforts to increase parental understanding and involvement in the program, offering activities of interest to parents such as ESL and/or basic skills. [More] Descriptors: Adult Basic Education, Bilingual Education Programs, Computer Assisted Instruction, Computer Literacy
(1993). The Assessment and Placement of Language Minority Students. ERIC/CUE Digest, Number 89. The assessment and placement of language minority students remain among the most serious problems facing schools today. As of 1990, 14 percent of the school-aged population in the United States comes from language minority backgrounds. Significant numbers of these students are not being properly identified by educators. Assessment procedures in a school often reflect local politics as well as student needs, and thus, no single universally acceptable model has been developed for any aspect of the language assessment process. Still, all districts must determine which students to assess and develop testing mechanisms. In most cases information from teachers and the Home Language Survey act as screening mechanisms for schools to determine if further evaluation is necessary. Various achievement and language proficiency tests have been developed to determine student eligibility for language or other services. Although tests should measure all aspects of language skill, many only evaluate oral skills. Improvements in assessment could take the form of "Student Centers" designed to ensure the equitable treatment of incoming language minority students; multiple assessment methods with teacher involvement in the evaluation; and parent participation in the process. Offers 13 references. [More] Descriptors: Bilingual Education, Disadvantaged Youth, Educational Discrimination, Elementary School Students
(1992). Facts & Figures about Education in Alaska, 1992. This collection of tables presents selected facts and figures about education in Alaska. General and district school information about Alaska's 469 public schools in 54 districts and its 276 private and denominational schools is followed by tables of general student information, including average daily membership, enrollment, graduates, and general education diplomas. Test results and statistics on the Scholastic Aptitude Test and the American College Testing Program test are presented. Staffing information includes data on teacher salaries and student-to-teacher ratios. Financial information includes costs of boarding home programs, pupil transportation, food programs, and a review of public revenues. The school districts are described in terms of geographic size and enrollment, and school district and superintendent information is listed, along with a directory of the Alaska Department of Education. Nineteen tables present the data. [More] Descriptors: Academic Achievement, Achievement Tests, Bilingual Education, Boarding Homes
(1993). Teaching Science Effectively to Limited English Proficient Students. ERIC/CUE Digest, Number 87. New teaching methods and curricula that show promise in their ability to provide limited English proficient (LEP) students with a good education in both science and English are discussed and illustrated. Discriminatory practice has led to the clustering of LEP students into low ability tracks without consideration of their actual abilities and potential, resulting in underrepresentation of minorities in advanced mathematics and science classes. To stimulate children's intellectual development, school professionals must become familiar with the diverse backgrounds of their students to make instruction more meaningful. Science content taught to LEP students should be the same as that taught to other students. Furthermore, English language instruction must be an integral objective of all science instruction. Instructional techniques must emphasize development of thinking skills. Research has supported the effectiveness of cooperative learning for teaching science to LEP students. An inquiry/discovery approach is especially effective for LEP students. Innovations to improve science instruction for LEP students can best be implemented through teacher training, new curricula, parent involvement, and new approaches to assessment. A 22-item list of general references is supplemented by a list of 15 items related to instructional materials. [More] Descriptors: Bilingual Education, Cooperative Learning, Curriculum Development, Discovery Learning
(1993). Relationships among Psychosocial Factors and Academic Achievement in Bilingual Hispanic and Anglo Students. This study examined the relationships among a set of psychosocial variables (academic competence, physical appearance, self-worth, and motivation) and between the psychosocial variables and academic achievement for 236 third grade and fifth grade native Spanish speakers and native English speakers enrolled in a bilingual immersion program since kindergarten. Analyses of students' responses to several measures showed significant main effects for grade on every psychosocial variable, with third graders scoring higher than fifth graders and significant grade level effects in Spanish mathematics and English reading and mathematics, with fifth graders outperforming third graders. English speakers scored higher than Spanish speakers in academic competence, English reading and mathematics, and Spanish mathematics; Spanish speakers outperformed English speakers in Spanish reading. The best predictors of current English reading and mathematics achievement were the Spanish and English mathematics scores from two years previous. Results are compared with previous research and discussed in terms of their theoretical significance. (Contains 21 references.) [More] Descriptors: Academic Ability, Academic Achievement, Bilingual Education Programs, Bilingual Students
(1989). Park West High School Vocational and High School Equivalency Bilingual Program, 1987-88. OREA Evaluation Report. In its fifth and final year of federal funding, the Vocational and High School Equivalency Program at New York's Park West High School served 254 students in grades 9-12. The program's purpose was to help students of limited English proficiency develop English language skills while receiving occupational training after school. The transitional program functioned as a minischool within the high school, providing the same overall job and career orientation offered to mainstream students. Students received instruction in English as a Second Language (ESL), native language arts (NLA), and bilingual instruction in mathematics, science, and social studies. The program also provided activities for parent involvement and staff development. It met its objectives in ESL and attendance. Data were insufficient to determine whether it met its NLA objective. The mainstreaming objective was not met. Recommendations for improvement include efforts toward increased communciation between bilingual and mainstream program staff, creation of an ESL/foreign language department, hiring of a full-time guidance counselor and full-time family assistant, and acquisition of equipment for program staff. [More] Descriptors: Attendance, Bilingual Education Programs, English (Second Language), Federal Programs
(1989). Project GET SET, 1987-88. OREA Evaluation Report. In its second extension year following a 3-year federal funding cycle, Project GET SET served 163 junior high school students of limited ability in both English and Spanish at two Bronx junior high schools. The project's aim was to reinforce English and native language skills and to offer students personal counseling, informative programs that would involve their parents, and career guidance. Students also worked with a part-time tutor. The program met its proposed objectives for native language development, and the noninstructional objectives were met for career seminars, parent programs, and staff training and development. Project GET SET only partially achieved the objectives in Englsih language development and curriculum material preparation. The project exposed students to a variety of traditional and nontraditional career opportunities through a range of bilingual reference works, field trips, and lecture programs. Parents could participate in four workshops, and teachers and guidance counselors each attended three workshops. Recommendations for improvement include completion of the educational curriculum materials, and training mainstream teachers in the project's instructional methods. [More] Descriptors: Bilingual Education Programs, Career Awareness, Counseling Services, English (Second Language)
(1993). Intercultural Programs: Program Evaluation. The Office of Intercultural Programs of the Des Moines public schools addresses the equity needs of the district through a wide range of equity services. The Office serves as a resource for students, parents, community, and staff, and provides service in the areas of: (1) the Voluntary Transfer Program; (2) paired and magnet schools; (3) extended day kindergarten; (4) English as a Second Language and bilingual programs; (5) Minority and Bilingual Community Liaison Advisor Program; (6) multicultural, nonsexist education; (7) cross-cultural awareness training; (8) the Military Achievement Program; (9) affirmative action; (10) discrimination compliance; and (11) sexual harassment training. An evaluation helped the staff prepare to meet the needs of the growing student population. Systematic equity efforts were framed by the revision of the district's Desegregation Plan and the publication of a formal document defining equity efforts. Strategic planning efforts involved parents, staff, students, and the community. As a result of the evaluation study, plans are underway to improve and expand services. Changes will be made in the Voluntary Transfer Program and efforts will be made to enhance the delivery of instruction for limited-English-proficient students. A major compliance thrust will be sexual harassment training for staff and students, as well as provisions for students with Attention Deficit Disorder. Each of the seven appendixes contains a table of evaluation findings. [More] Descriptors: Attention Deficit Disorders, Bilingual Education, Budgets, Cross Cultural Studies
(1989). Scholarly Transition and Resource Systems (Project STARS), 1987-88. OREA Evaluation Report. The Scholastic Transition and Resource System Program (Project STARS) sought to identify gifted and talented students of limited English proficiency and provide them with the help needed to succeed in advanced and basic content area and vocational/technical courses. The 1-year, federally-funded program served 321 students at 3 New York City high schools. Students received instruction in English as a Second Language (ESL), native language arts (for Spanish- and French-speaking students), content area courses, and career-related courses taught bilingually or with an ESL approach. Noninstructional activities included guidance/career advisement, staff development, parent participation, and curriculum development. Students met program objectives for mastery in ESL but not in content area subjects. Objectives were met for student attendance but not curriculum development. Lack of data prevented determination of whether guidance/career advisement, staff development, or parental involvement objectives were met. Recommendations for improvement include revision of content area performance objectives to reflect more realistic achievement levels, and improved data reporting in parent involvement, staff development, and career advisement. [More] Descriptors: Attendance, Bilingual Education Programs, Career Counseling, Computer Science
(1992). Alternative Learning Methodologies through Academics (Project ALMA). 1991-92 Final Evaluation Profile. OREA Report. Under Title VII of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, Project Alternative Learning Methodologies through Academics (Project ALMA) in New York City was evaluated. It was designed to emphasize acquisition of English language and mathematics and computer skills. High school students were to take English as a Second Language (ESL) and mathematics, science, and social studies courses in Spanish. The project planned to offer native language arts (NLA) instruction through advanced placement levels. Project design included bilingual counseling and support services, with ESL and high school equivalency programs for the parents and adult siblings of project participants. In 1991-92, the second year of a 3-year plan, the project enrolled 196 male and 234 female Latino students of limited English proficiency. Project ALMA carried out most of its planned activities, with the exception of producing a newsletter and translating curriculum materials. Enrollment in computer classes was limited by lack of computer literate staff. Recommendations are made for project improvement at both project schools. Appendix A presents information on data collection and analysis, and Appendix B describes instructional materials. [More] Descriptors: Academic Achievement, Bilingual Education Programs, Computer Literacy, English (Second Language)