In the United States, the Seal of Biliteracy (SoBL) has emerged as a state-level policy innovation to recognize high school graduates who demonstrate proficiency in two or more languages. Just after the state of South Dakota passed the 50th and final state SoBL policy in 2024, Aguirre and Chou (2024) released the national SoBL report to detail the…

Background/Context: English learners (ELs) have the potential to bring much-needed multilingual skills to the workforce, and most ELs aspire to graduate high school and earn a post-secondary credential (Gwynne, Pareja, Ehrlich, & Allensworth, 2012; Shi & Watkinson, 2019). But active ELs graduate high school at far lower rates than their…

This study examines a broad array of potential indicators for early warning and college readiness indicator systems for different subgroups of English Learners in high school. Using data from 2008 through 2021 from the Chicago Public Schools, the study follows cohorts of students from eighth grade through college graduation, using logistic…

The National Matriculation English Test (NMET), also known as the Gaokao English Examination, is a high-stakes, large-scale selection test for tertiary education in China, with numerous provinces and regions adopting the standardized national test papers. The validity of the NMET has garnered extensive attention. To verify the NMET's validity, it…

Background/Context: Students designated as English Learners (ELs) account for 10.4 percent of all students nationwide but have historically been provided unequal access to educational resources (Gándara et al., 2003; National Center for Education Statistics, 2023). Further, education policies are often blind to ELs' strengths and challenges,…

New York State boasts a rich linguistic and cultural heritage, with students speaking over 200 languages. Understanding the importance of multilingualism and multiliteracy, the New York State Legislature established the New York State Seal of Biliteracy (NYSSB) in 2012, with the first set of graduates earning the NYSSB in the 2015-2016 academic…

The Seal of Biliteracy (SoBL) is a high school graduation credential that recognizes US students in their final year of high school who have demonstrated proficiency in English and at least one other language. SoBL implementation has been shown in many contexts to be governed by local policy arbiters, who interpret the state policy to provide…

Sino-foreign cooperative universities (SFCU) represent the advanced manifestation of transnational education in China and has profoundly shaped the country's higher education landscape. Despite the tremendous development of SFCUs, there is limited research on the motivations and driving factors of students choosing to study at SFCUs. To bridge…

In this investigation, Kristin J. Davin analyzes current and former emergent bilingual learners' decisions to take or not take a language proficiency assessment in a home language to pursue a Seal of Biliteracy (SoBL). The SoBL is a policy adopted in forty states to counteract English-only ideologies by recognizing students who graduate high…

This longitudinal, quantitative study examined the differences in second language acquisition among "first-" and "second-year" English language learners (ELLs) who attended newcomer and comprehensive middle schools. The study is organized into six cohorts by students entering middle school between 2006 and 2013 then graduating…

This policy brief demonstrates the importance of reporting outcomes for four different groups of students: students currently classified as English learners (current ELs), students formerly classified as ELs (former ELs), students ever classified as ELs (ever ELs, which is the combined group of current and former ELs), and students never…

Northwest Arkansas has one of the largest populations of Marshall Islanders outside of the Republic of the Marshall Islands. The first know Marshallese immigrant arrived in the 1986, and the first Marshallese student in Northwest Public Schools arrived in the late 1980's. Since that time, an estimated 10,000-12,000 Marshallese have settled in…

'Education is the key' is often used as a metaphor in remote Australian First Nations communities to indicate the importance of learning to achieve some measure of socio-economic advantage--education is seen as a vehicle for advancement. First Nations people have enthusiastically bought into education and training vehicle. High school completion…

Paying attention while listening, following instructions, and verbal reasoning are some of the most important skills we will need to get through life. These are some of the most important skills a college student needs to possess in order for him to survive. The fast pace of technological advancement and social change over the years has created a…

ORS 327.016 directs the Oregon Department of Education (ODE) to prepare an annual report on English learner program funding and student outcomes. The report's intention is to describe the population of English Learners in Oregon and provide a summary of district and state progress towards meeting their needs and objectives. This report consists of…