California's success
The most recent results from California public schools on the 2001 Stanford 9 standardized exam, which tests relatively basic skills, show second-grade pupils enrolled in English immersion classes raised their average scores by 3 percentile points. That gain is two times higher than the improvement of pupils considered fluent in English. Many see the improved test scores as another indication that in California at least, English immersion is succeeding where traditional bilingual education failed. While other factors, such as state-mandated reductions in class size, a greater emphasis on language arts and preschool and afterschool tutoring programs, surely played a role, the effects of the immersion method cannot be denied. Pupils in the program have shown stronger gains in both reading and math than have non-immersion children. In the school districts exempt from immersion requirements, pupils showed minimal gains, while in those that strictly adhered to the immersion programs the gains were enormous. California voters did away with bilingual education by ballot initiative, Proposition 227, in June 1998. Massachusetts voters likely will face a similar choice if supporters and opponents of a language immersion program are able to get their questions on the November 2002 ballot. Attorney General Thomas F. Reilly gave four ballot questions on the subject the constitutional OK. Now petitioners must collect 57,100 signatures to get their initiatives spots on the ballot. The catastrophe predicted by those opposed to the immersion program in California did not occur. Instead the approximately 1 million public school pupils identified as limited English speakers'' have shown appreciable, and at times sensational, gains on standardized tests. Bilingual education was intended to be a short-term, transitional program. But it has failed to reach that goal. Instead it has hampered the educational progress of the students it was intended to help. After years of being segregated in bilingual classes, students often find themselves far behind their English-speaking classmates when they finally reach a mainstream class. Massachusetts needs to overhaul its bilingual program. It now appears it will be up to the voters to decide whether to scrap the plan or modify it through so-called sheltered English'' programs or a cap on the length of time a child spends in bilingual classes. Millions of immigrants have shown over the years that the faster non-English speakers participate in regular classes, the better their chances of success. Voters and lawmakers should keep mainstreaming students as quickly as possible as their central theme. It is long overdue. |