TWO YEARS ago, Californians voted overwhelmingly to end bilingual education in their public schools. The switch to an English-only approach was condemned by some teachers and Latino politicians but hailed by many Latino parents.

Test results suggest that the switch has been every bit as successful as its proponents promised.

Because Proposition 227 allowed some school districts to obtain waivers and continue offering bilingual education, Californians can measure the progress of children in schools with English immersion programs against those who remain in bilingual classes.

The contrast is striking.

In the Oceanside district, which has been strictest in complying with Proposition 227, reading scores of children with only limited English have improved by 90 percent and math scores have doubled. In the San Jose district, which continued with bilingual education, reading scores improved only 10 percent and math scores only 40 percent.

In California as a whole, second-graders with limited English have moved up since 1998 from the 19th percentile in national rankings on reading to the 28th percentile.

Clearly, Proposition 227 is working. It’s helping children learn. And the results should prompt parents in districts that have obtained waivers to get with the program.

This isn’t to suggest that businesses and government agencies should abandon their own efforts to communicate with customers, workers and taxpayers who have only a limited command of English. America has become a far more diverse nation than it was a generation ago, and this trend benefits everyone – including those whose first and only language is English.

But bilingual education is a well-intentioned experiment that just hasn’t worked. California was smart to begin dismantling it.



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