An Austin, Texas, program regarding the identification and placement of Hispanic, limited-English-proficient (LEP) elementary school students is reported. They were assigned to one of three programs: bilingual education; English as a Second Language (ESL); or Language Arts Mastery Process (LAMP). The Austin Independent School District evaluated the effects of the placements based on data from central computer files and personal interviews. After 3 years of study the major findings were as follows: (1) the achievement of LEP students in LAMP exceeded that of students in both the bilingual and ESL programs in the first year, but subsequent years showed no distinct superiority of one program over the other two; (2) attendance and exit rates did not indicate any clear superiority for one program over the others; (3) students' language dominance appears to have changed little since original identification; (4) demographic characteristics of students in all three programs are very similar and have changed little during the 3 years; (5) after a large initial shift in 1989-90 from students being served in the bilingual program to the ESL and LAMP programs, little additional shift occurred in 1990-91; and (6) new procedures may prevent some false identification of students as LEP. Contains 4 references. (LB)