Study looks at test scores of limited English speakers | Dallas Morning News | News for Dallas, Texas | News: Education: Most students with limited English-speaking skills are concentrated in low-performing public schools. Many of them don't do well on standardized tests, but neither do black or white students who attend the same schools.
A study released Thursday by the Pew Hispanic Center analyzed standardized testing data for public schools in Texas, Arizona, California, Florida and New York.
The findings, however, have less to do with who the students are and more with what their schools are like.
The study, based on an analysis of three U.S. Department of Education databases, points out that these public schools with large numbers of English language learners usually have high student-teacher ratios, large student enrollments and high numbers of students who are eligible for free and reduced lunches.
The study finds that English language learners performed better on standardized tests when they were not concentrated in low-performing schools. But so did their white and black peers.
