A Matter of Time: Variations in High School Course-Taking by Years-as-EL Subgroup. (December 2019)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Johnson, Angela
• Is Part Of: Educational evaluation and policy analysis. Volume 41:Number 4(2019)
• Page Start: 461
• Page End: 482
• Publication Date: 2019-12
• Subjects: educational policy -- equity -- high schools -- regression analyses; Education -- Evaluation -- Research -- United States -- Periodicals; Education -- Research -- United States -- Periodicals; 370.7
• DOI: 10.3102/0162373719867087
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0162-3737

Abstract

English learners (ELs) lag behind their peers in academic achievement and attainment, partly due to limited exposure to academic content. Prior studies that examine high school course-taking find significant course access gaps between ELs and non-ELs but provide little information on the relation between course-taking and time spent as an EL. This study improves upon previous research by addressing this dimension of heterogeneity and reporting detailed by-subject analyses. I use student-level data (N = 41, 343) from a unique district in California with a large number of Chinese and Spanish ELs. I find substantial heterogeneity in general and advanced course-taking based on time spent as an EL. But differences disappear once eighth grade test scores are taken into consideration.