Academic Achievement and Course Taking Among Language Minority Youth in U.S. Schools: Effects of ESL Placement

TLDR

The 1974 Lau decision mandates meaningful education for English‑learning students, yet the academic consequences of ESL placement remain largely unexplored. The study estimates how ESL placement affects college‑preparatory course enrollment and academic achievement among language minority students using nationally representative data. Analyses employ fixed‑effects regression and multi‑level propensity‑score matching to assess these effects. ESL placement is associated with a significant negative impact on science course enrollment and cumulative GPA, and no positive effects on achievement are observed after controlling for English proficiency and other covariates.

Abstract

The 1974 Lau decision requires that U.S. public schools ensure a meaningful education for students learning English. English as a Second Language (ESL) placement is an institutional response to the linguistic needs of these students; however, its academic implications remain largely unexplored. Using nationally representative data from the Educational Longitudinal Study (ELS), the effects of ESL placement on college preparatory course enrollment and academic achievement of language minority students are estimated, first with fixed effects regression models and then with multi-level propensity score matching techniques. While numerous school and individual level factors beyond language proficiency predict ESL placement, a significant negative estimated effect of ESL placement on science enrollment and cumulative GPA is consistently found. Perhaps more important, however, no positive effects of ESL placement on the achievement of language minority youth are found when accounting for English proficiency and other potential covariates.