This brief provides information about student literacy performance of students with different background characteristics and learning environments. It draws from data collected and analyzed in the report "A First Look at Early Literacy Performance in Massachusetts: Results of Initial Analysis Based on State Grantee Literacy Screening…

Federal law requires states to develop systems to hold K-12 schools accountable for the outcomes of all students. This includes using data to illuminate how historically marginalized groups of students, including English Learners (ELs), are disadvantaged by systems that fail to meet their distinct needs. But for this to be useful for school…

California's K-12 funding and instructional policies for English learners (ELs) have changed significantly over the past 2 decades. The major policy shifts held the potential to change student learning outcome patterns for ELs. As a first step in identifying the potential impacts of these policy shifts, this report describes changes over time in…

Two consequentially related education policy topics in the United States are kindergarten entry assessments (KEAs) and the growing number of students who are "English learners" (ELs). In this study, I compared the content of, and home language use policies for six state KEAs, all of which were comprised of items from the GOLD®…

Following a high-quality early care and pre-K experience, the kindergarten-through-third-grade years set the foundation upon which future learning builds; and strengthening this continuum creates opportunities for later success. Key components of a quality experience in K-3 include school readiness and transitions, kindergarten requirements,…

The following information was gathered from state statute and regulation only. The information included here reflects state-funded pre-K programs in which state statute and/or regulation provide detail on instruction specific to English learners or dual-language learners. Based on Education Commission of the States' review, at least nine states…

Beginning with the 2020/21 school year, the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) began collecting literacy screening assessment data from schools and districts participating in certain state grants. Screening assessment benchmark scores were available for just over 35,000 unique students across 2020/21 and 2021/22,…

With U.S. classrooms increasingly characterized by linguistic diversity, policies mandating teacher training around English learning have proliferated. Recent federal oversight prompted Massachusetts to implement an initiative to endorse its 70,000+ teachers in Sheltered English Immersion (SEI). While policy research has productively emphasized…

Given the role of the state as the primary governing level tasked with U.S. public education, combined with the rapid rise in the proportion of students who are identified as English learners (ELs), this manuscript puts forth a framework for state EL education policy. The framework is organized around three core principles of understanding…

The present study examined the association between a state's Language Instructional Educational Program (LIEP) policy and Latino children's early childhood mathematical achievement. Using a nationally representative sample of Latino children (n=3,820) from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study-Kindergarten 2010-2011 cohort (ECLS-K: 2011), the…

This guide aims to support state education agencies and early education partners develop coherent, research-based policy by guiding thinking, discussion, data collection, and gap analyses of current practices and policies that can lead to more intentional decision making relative to young Dual Language Learners (DLL) and English Learners (EL).…

This brief arises from two distinct yet related activities currently underway within the Indiana Department of Education (IDOE). First, IDOE is preparing to review the state early learning standards. The idea for this brief arose initially in that context as a means of considering how to intentionally design and use early learning standards to…

Although current and former English Learner (EL) or "ever-EL" students comprise one of the fastest-growing K-12 populations, we still know relatively little about the factors that influence their college-going. Using Perna's seminal college-going model as a launching point, we propose a policy-driven empirical approach to explore how…

The "2023 Pro-Kid Policy Agenda for California" is the comprehensive state-level roadmap to ensure that all children have the necessary services and supports to reach their full potential. California has an obligation to end systemic injustices that create barriers to kids of color, as well as kids living in poverty, undocumented kids,…

The "2022 Pro-Kid Policy Agenda" for California is the comprehensive state-level roadmap to ensure that all children have the necessary services and supports to reach their full potential. California has an obligation to end systemic injustices that create barriers to kids of color, as well as kids living in poverty, undocumented kids,…