Equitable Access for Secondary English Learner Students

Abstract

PURPOSE: academic development, and must do so without furthering inequity or segregation (Lau, 1974; Castañeda, 1981). The recent ESSA (2015) reauthorization expresses a renewed focus on evidence of equity, effectiveness, and opportunity to learn. We propose that high school course taking patterns provide evidence of program effectiveness and equity in access. RESEARCH DESIGN: , we employ multinomial regression models to predict students' likelihood of completing two types of high school coursework (basic graduation, college preparatory) by their linguistic status. FINDINGS: Despite considerable linguistic, sociodemographic, and academic controls, marked disparities in high school course taking patterns remain, with EL students experiencing significantly less academic exposure. IMPLICATIONS FOR POLICY AND PRACTICE: Building on McKenzie and Scheurich's (2004) notion of an equity trap and evidence of a long-standing EL opportunity gap, we suggest that school leaders might use our findings and their own course taking patterns to prompt discussions about the causes and consequences of local EL placement processes. Such discussions have the potential to raise awareness about how educators and school leaders approach educational equity and access, key elements central to the spirit of EL education policy.