Annual 'Quality Counts' Education Report Highlights English Language Learners
January 7, 2009 - Posted by Tyler Lewis
Education Week just released its annual "Quality Counts" report, which grades all 50 states and the District of Columbia on their education policies and student achievement.
Overall, the nation received Cs in all three of the report's major categories.
In addition, "Quality Counts 2009" includes a special focus on how well the nation's schools are doing at educating English Language Learners (ELL), students who do not speak English as their primary language. Approximately 70 percent of ELLs are U.S. citizens, according to census data.
The report found that:
- The achievement gap between ELLs and all public school students is "significant;"
- One-quarter of ELLs are not making progress toward learning to speak English well; and
- Only three states – Arizona, Florida, and New York – require prospective teachers to show they are qualified to teach ELLs, even though 33 states have some level of teaching standards for ELL instructors.
Link to this post
