Parallel reading and mathematics growth for English learners: Does timing of reclassification matter?

This study compared reading and mathematics growth trajectories in a statewide dataset of 33,715 students across third through fifth grades. Specifically, we examined growth for English Learners (ELs) who were reclassified as no longer needing English Language services at different grade levels as compared to their never-EL peers. Overall, EL students performed significantly below never-EL students on reading and mathematics assessments at Grade 3, with EL students making greater academic gains across time points than never-EL students. Students who were reclassified after third grade and after fourth grade closed, or began to close, the academic opportunity gap by the end of fifth grade, providing promising evidence suggesting that reclassification policies are adequate for identifying those students who no longer need EL services. Students who continued to be classified as EL from third through fifth grades continued to score significantly lower than never-ELs, and in many cases other EL groups, indicating that there exists a group of EL students who continue to make inadequate reading and mathematics gains across late elementary school. Implications for policy and practices that support EL students' mathematics and reading growth are discussed.