Similar English Learner Students, Different Results: Why Do Some Schools Do Better? A Follow-Up Analysis, Based upon a Large-Scale Survey of California Elementary Schools Serving High Proportions of Low-Income and EL Students. Research Brief

In spring 2006 California released its first ever school-level Academic Performance Index (API) scores for English Learners (ELs). These EL-API scores were based on California Standards Tests taken in the spring of 2005, and make it possible to identify how well schools were doing with this student population. It is not unexpected that elementary schools that differ widely with regard to their student poverty and EL demographics also differ widely on the state's API. What is striking, however, is how wide the EL-API gap is between schools that serve similar students (based on California's Schools Characteristics Index or SCI). Why do California elementary schools serving similar proportions of low-income, Spanish speaking EL students differ by over 250 points on California's new EL Academic Performance Index score? What school practices can help explain this API gap? This research brief summarizes the full report, which uses an analysis of principal and teacher survey responses from a random sample of 257 schools, correlated with the EL-API, to address those questions.