High School English Language Learner Newcomers: Graduation Rates in the Road Map Districts

High School English Language Learner Newcomers: Graduation Rates in the Road Map Districts Limited Distribution Report September, 2015 Jason Greenberg Motamedi Education Northwest

Limited circulation document This research report contains preliminary data and analysis, which were prepared by REL Northwest for use by research alliance members. Though the Institute of Education Sciences (IES) of the U.S. Department of Education supported work related to this document, it has not been reviewed and approved by IES for public distribution due to its preliminary nature. In addition, the content of the document does not necessarily reflect the views or policies of the U.S. Department of Education nor does mention of trade names, commercial products, or organizations imply endorsement by the U. S. government. Authorized users of this summary include members of the Road Map Project, the Road Map ELL Workgroup, and staff members from Auburn, Federal Way, Highline, Kent, Renton, Seattle, and Tukwila school districts, who may not distribute the document to unauthorized users. The summary has been prepared to provide information and to encourage discussion that can inform research, policy, and practice and should not be used in isolation to reach definitive conclusions. REL Northwest staff members are available to facilitate discussion and to provide further relevant information related to this document. Please contact Christopher Mazzeo at REL Northwest (christopher.mazzeo@educationnorthwest.org) for further information or follow-up. This project was funded at least in part with federal funds from the U. S. Department of Education under contract number ED-IES-12-C-0003. About REL Northwest REL Northwest, operated by Education Northwest, partners with practitioners and policymakers to strengthen data and research use. As one of 10 federally funded regional educational laboratories, we conduct research studies, provide training and technical assistance, and disseminate information. Our work focuses on regional challenges such as turning around low-performing schools, improving college and career readiness, and promoting equitable and excellent outcomes for all students. For more information, please go to http://relnw.educationnorthwest.org/.

Executive Summary Unlike most English language learners (ELLs) who enter Washington schools in the elementary grades (Malagon, McCold, & Nelson, 2012), newcomer ELLs are students born outside of the United States, between 14 and 21 years of age, who enter Washington schools for the first time in grades 9 12 with basic and intermediate English proficiency. Research shows that newcomers ELLs who arrive in the United States as young adults are much less likely to complete high school than ELL students who arrive in childhood (Oropesa & Landale, 2009; White & Kaufman, 1997). As a result, newcomer ELLs are of significant concern to educators in the seven Washington school districts (Auburn, Federal Way, Highline, Kent, Renton, Seattle, and Tukwila) comprising the Road Map Project. This report calculates the number of high school ELL newcomers who enter Road Map district schools, the percentage that go on to graduate, and how this varies by English language proficiency at entry into the U.S. school system, grade at entry, and student demographics. This report provides information that can help Road Map district staff members and other stakeholders design effective and appropriate interventions for high school ELL newcomers to improve their graduation rates and better prepare them for postsecondary education and careers. In preparing the report, Regional Educational Laboratory (REL) Northwest staff examined Washington Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) records of 339,306 K 12 students in the Road Map districts, collected from 2005/06 to 2012/13. We identified 1,608 high school ELL newcomers that attended Road Map schools during this study period and found that most of these students entered Road Map schools for the first time in grade 9 and between 16 to 18 years of age. Nearly a third (460 students) of high school ELL newcomers were excluded from this study because they transferred out of Road Map districts. Of the remaining 1,148 students: Thirty-seven percent (425 high school ELL newcomers) graduated from high school Sixteen percent (181 high school ELL newcomers) dropped out of high school Forty-seven percent (542 high school ELL newcomers) did not graduate or continue as students in Washington schools. Their outcomes are unknown. Other findings include: High school ELL newcomers entering Washington schools for the first time who are 17 to 20 years of age or older had a lower graduation rate than 14-to-16-year-old newcomers High school ELL newcomers entering Washington schools for the first time in grade 9 had a lower graduation rate than those who entered school in grades 10 to 12 High school ELL newcomers entering high school with basic English proficiency had a lower graduation rate than those entering with intermediate English proficiency

Newcomer ELL Graduation Rates in the Road Map Districts The Road Map Project is an ambitious collective action, cradle-to-career initiative that seeks to double the percentage of students in South King County and South Seattle (Washington) who are ready for college or careers by 2020. Improving the outcomes of high school English language learner (ELL) newcomers is central to that effort. The seven Road Map school districts (Auburn, Federal Way, Highline, Kent, Renton, Seattle, and Tukwila) enroll more than twice the percentage of high school ELL newcomers as other districts in Washington. Unlike most ELL students in Washington who enter school in the elementary grades (Malagon, McCold, & Nelson, 2013), high school ELL newcomers are born outside of the United States, are between 14 and 21 years of age, and enter Washington schools for the first time in grades 9 12, with basic and intermediate English proficiency. 1 This report calculates the number of ELL newcomers who enter the Road Map district high schools, the percentage that go on to graduate, and how this varies by English language proficiency at entry into the U.S. school system, grade at entry, and by student demographics. Regional Educational Laboratory (REL) Northwest undertook this analysis in response to a request from the Road Map Project ELL Workgroup to help its members understand more about their ELL populations. This study will help Road Map district educators and other stakeholders design effective and appropriate interventions for high school ELL newcomers to improve their graduation rates and better prepare them for postsecondary education and careers. Who are high school ELL newcomers? ELL newcomers are broadly defined as newly arrived immigrants who need to learn English (Francis, Rivera, Lesaux, Kieffer, & Rivera, 2006; Short & Boyson, 2012). This report limits the definition of ELL newcomers to those students who enter U.S. schools with basic or intermediate English proficiency. ELL newcomers who arrive in the United States as young adults are much less likely to complete high school than ELLs who arrive in childhood (Oropesa & Landale, 2009; White & Kaufman, 1997). Newcomer ELLs in high school are a diverse group (Rance-Roney, 2009). Some arrive in the United States with strong educational backgrounds but with no knowledge of the English language or of American history and culture. Others are refugees who arrive in the United States with interrupted educations and psychological trauma. Many high school ELL newcomers contend with extended family separations, experience daily stress related to their tenuous status, and live with relatives or even on their own (Suárez-Orozco, Bang, & Kim, 2011). Some lack literacy skills in their native language, as well as in English (Community Center for Education Results, 2011; Malagon, McCold, & Hernandez, 2012; Short & Boyson, 2012). All of these newcomers must learn English and complete the courses necessary to graduate in the span of a few years. However, because they are still acquiring English, they are often relegated to elective, remedial, or even noncredit-bearing courses instead of academically appropriate courses, regardless of their prior preparation (Callahan, 2005). 1 Some students who fit this definition may have been previously enrolled in schools in other states. However, the dataset used for this study does not provide this information. 2 REL Northwest

Research questions We examined Washington Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) data from students who attended high schools in the Road Map districts between 2005/06 and 2012/13 to address the following questions: 1. How many high school ELL newcomers enter Road Map district high schools between the ages of 14 and 21? How do these students vary by age at entry, grade at entry, English proficiency at entry, gender, race/ethnicity, and home language? 2. What proportion of these high school ELL newcomers graduate by or before the age of 21? How does this proportion vary by age at entry, grade at entry, English proficiency at entry, gender, race/ethnicity, and home language? Road Map schools served 1,608 high school ELL newcomers There were 1,608 ELL students attending Road Map high schools between 2005/06 and 2012/13 who met the definition of a high school ELL newcomer and were old enough to age out of public education in Washington state upon turning 21 by or before 2012/13 (table 1). High school ELL newcomers made up approximately 18 percent of all ELLs enrolled in Road Map high schools and 3 percent of all K 12 ELLs in Road Map schools between 2005/06 and 2012/13. Where did these results come from? This analysis used data from two OSPI K 12 datasets collected from 2005/06 to 2012/13. The Comprehensive Education Data and Research System contains data on enrollment, demographic characteristics, special program status, and district/school information for all students enrolled in Washington public schools. The Transitional Bilingual Instructional Program database contains information that is specific to students classified as ELL students, such as English language assessment results and the language reported to be spoken at a student s home. The analysis included ELLs who entered Washington schools for the first time in grades 9 12 with basic and intermediate English proficiency, were between 14 and 21 years of age, were born outside the United States, and entered a Road Map high school between 2005/06 and 2012/13. All of the students in the sample would have aged out of public education in Washington upon turning 21 by or before the end of the 2012/13 school year. In keeping with Washington s methods of calculating graduation, students who transferred out of the districts were excluded from this analysis. Data came from six of the seven Road Map school districts. One district, Federal Way, was excluded from the analysis because most newcomers (92 percent) were missing graduation data. Graduation rate was calculated by dividing the number of high school ELL newcomers who graduated by the total number of high school ELL newcomers in the analytic sample. For example, there were 425 newcomers who graduated and 1,148 newcomers in the sample (after eliminating transfers); 425 1,148 =.37 (or 37 percent). Road Map Newcomer Graduation Rates 3

Table 1. High school ELL newcomer population in Road Map districts between 2005/06 and 2012/13, by age and grade level at entry Age at Number of students entry Grade 9 Grade 10 Grade 11 Grade 12 All grades 14 15 209 10 0 0 219 16 210 92 10 0 312 17 221 76 78 0 375 18 184 75 70 31 360 19 87 29 53 35 204 20 21 62 13 30 33 138 All ages 973 295 241 99 1,608 Two-thirds (65 percent) of high school ELL newcomers entered Washington schools for the first time between 16 and 18 years of age (figure 1). Figure 1. Most high school ELL newcomers enter Road Map schools for the first time as 16- to 18- year-olds 23% 22% 19% 14% 13% 9% 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 Age at entry Regardless of age, most high school ELL newcomers entered school in grade 9 (figure 2). There were similar numbers of 17- and 18-year-old ELL newcomers entering grade 9 as 14-to-16-yearold ELL newcomers (see table 1). Each district has its own placement practices for high school ELL newcomers, which are not explored in this report. However, nearly all districts place these high school ELL newcomers into grades according to their accumulated credits, not their age. Therefore, a student who had not earned credits or was not able to transfer them from their previous school would be placed in grade 9, regardless of their age. 4 REL Northwest

Figure 2. Most high school ELL newcomers enter Road Map schools for the first time in grade 9 Grade 9 61% Grade 10 18% Grade 11 15% Grade 12 6% Nearly a third of high school ELL newcomers transferred out of Road Map districts and were excluded from this study Of the 1,608 high school ELL newcomers who attended Road Map high schools between 2005/06 and 2012/13, 460 students (29 percent) transferred out of the Road Map districts and did not graduate in Washington. In keeping with Washington s methods of calculating graduation rates, transferred students are excluded in all subsequent calculations. The 29 percent transfer rate is much higher than the 17 percent reported by OSPI for high school students overall in 2012/13 (Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction, n.d.). More than a third of high school ELL newcomers in the analytic sample graduated from high school in Washington Of the 1,148 high school ELL newcomers in the analytic sample: Thirty-seven percent (425 students) graduated in Washington by or before turning 21. A small number (< 10) of these students earned an alternative diploma, such as an Individualized Education Program certificate of completion. Forty-seven percent (542 students) did not graduate or continue as students in Washington schools. These students have unknown outcomes because they did not inform their school that they were leaving. These students may have left school to begin working and did not provide notice they were dropping out, or they may have left school to enter a GED completion program. Sixteen percent (181 students) dropped out of school (figure 3). Road Map Newcomer Graduation Rates 5

Figure 3. More than a third of high school ELL newcomers graduated from high school in Washington Graduated 37% Unknown 47% Dropped out 16% The high school ELL newcomer graduation rate of 37 percent is substantially below Washington s graduation rate of 76 percent for all students and 50 percent rate for ELLs. It is also lower than the combined Road Map districts graduation rate of 72 percent for all students and 46 percent for ELLs (figure 4). The graduation rate for high school ELL newcomers for all Washington districts is not currently calculated by OSPI. Figure 4. High school ELL newcomers had lower graduation rates than other ELLs 76% 72% 50% 46% 37% Washington Road Map All students All ELLs High school ELL newcomers Source: Washington results are the adjusted four-year cohort rate for 2012/13 from OSPI s data and reports website (Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction, n.d.). Road Map district results are from OSPI data for 2005/06 2012/13. Older ELL newcomers had a lower graduation rate than younger ELL newcomers High school ELL newcomers who entered Road Map district schools for the first time between 17 to 21 years of age graduated at a lower rate than younger students (14 and 16 years of age). Of the 377 high school ELL newcomers who entered Road Map schools at the age of 16 or younger, almost half (46 percent) graduated. In comparison, a quarter (25 percent) of the 256 high school ELL newcomers who entered Road Map schools at the age of 19 or 20 graduated before they aged out by turning 21 (figure 5, table 2). 6 REL Northwest

Figure 5. High school ELL newcomers between 14 and 16 years of age graduated at higher rates than those 17 years of age or older 43% 48% 36% 37% 26% 24% 14-15 16 17 18 19 20-21 Age at entry Table 2. Percentage of high school ELL newcomers graduating, by age of entry Percent of high school Graduated Age at entry N ELL newcomers n percent 14 15 143 12.5 62 43.4 16 234 20.4 112 47.9 17 250 21.8 90 36.0 18 256 22.3 94 36.7 19 157 13.7 41 26.1 20 21 108 9.4 26 24.1 All ages 1,148 425 37.0 High school ELL newcomers entering in grade 9 had a lower graduation rate than those entering in higher grades High school ELL newcomers who entered Road Map district high schools in grade 9 graduated at a lower rate than those who entered in grades 10 12. Of the 690 high school ELL newcomers who entered Road Map schools in grade 9, less than a third (31 percent) graduated. In contrast, almost half (47 percent) of the 458 high school ELL newcomers who entered after grade 9 graduated from high school (figure 6). This finding is counterintuitive, since younger ELL newcomers graduated at higher rates than older ones. However, the ELL newcomers who entered Road Map district schools in grade 9 were, on average, older than typical grade 9 students. The ELL newcomers were 16 years old when they started grade 9 (table 3), a year older than their non-ell newcomer peers starting grade 9 (Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction, n.d.). Road Map Newcomer Graduation Rates 7

Figure 6. High school ELL newcomers who entered in grade 9 graduated at lower rates 47% 46% 45% 31% Grade 9 Grade 10 Grade 11 Grade 12 Grade at entry Table 3. Percentage of high school ELL newcomers graduating and age, by grade of entry Mean age Percent of high school Graduated Grade at entry N at entry ELL newcomers n percent Grade 9 690 16.3 60.1 212 30.7 Grade 10 211 16.3 18.4 100 47.4 Grade 11 170 17.3 14.8 78 45.9 Grade 12 77 18.1 6.7 35 45.5 All grades 1,148 16.6 425 37.0 High school ELL newcomers with basic English proficiency had a lower graduation rate than those with intermediate English proficiency High school ELL newcomers entering Road Map district high schools with basic English proficiency graduated at a lower rate than those entering with more knowledge of English. Overall, 26 percent of high school ELL newcomers who entered with basic knowledge of English graduated from high school, compared to 40 percent of those with intermediate knowledge of English (table 4). Table 4. Percentage of high school ELL newcomers graduating, by English proficiency at entry English proficiency at Percent of high school Graduated N entry ELL newcomers n percent Basic 272 23.7 71 26.1 Intermediate 876 76.3 354 40.4 Total 1,148 425 37.0 Male ELL newcomers had a lower graduation rate than female ELL newcomers Slightly fewer male than female ELL newcomers graduated (table 5). 8 REL Northwest

Table 5. Percentage of newcomers graduating, by gender Gender N Percent of high school ELL newcomers n Graduated percent Female 526 45.8 211 40.1 Male 622 54.2 214 34.4 Total 1,148 425 37.0 However, girls had other advantages over boys that may have affected their graduation rate. For example, girls had higher initial English proficiency than boys and a higher percentage entered grades 10 to 12 (table 6), both of which appear to be related to higher graduation rates (see tables 3 and 4). Table 6. Percentage of newcomers by English proficiency level at entry, grade at entry, and gender Gender Percent of ELL newcomers by English proficiency level at entry Percent of ELL newcomers by grade at entry Basic Intermediate Grade 9 Grades 10 to 12 Female 21 79 56 44 Male 26 74 63 37 Total 24 76 60 40 Latino high school ELL newcomers had a lower graduation rate than other high school ELL newcomers Fewer Latino high school ELL newcomers graduated from Road Map district high schools than other ELL student groups. Overall, a quarter (23 percent) of Latino high school ELL newcomers and a third (34 percent) of Black high school ELL newcomers graduated from Road Map schools. In comparison, almost half (46 percent) of Asian and two-thirds (67 percent) of White high school ELL newcomers graduated (figure 7, table 7). Road Map Newcomer Graduation Rates 9

Figure 7. Latino high school ELL newcomers graduated at lower rates than other high school ELL newcomer groups 67% 46% 34% 23% White Asian Black Latino Table 7. Percentage of high school ELL newcomers graduating, by race/ethnicity Race/ethnicity N Percent of high school Graduated ELL newcomers n percent White 100 8.7 67 67.0 Asian 342 29.8 157 45.9 Black 340 29.6 114 33.5 Latino 337 29.4 79 23.4 Other 29 2.5 8 27.6 Total 1,148 425 37.0 High school ELL newcomers spoke 96 different home languages. Of those, eight languages Amharic, Cambodian, Cantonese, Nepali, Russian, Somali, Spanish, and Vietnamese represented 69 percent of all ELL newcomer language groups with more than 10 graduates. To ensure confidentiality, we did not disaggregate graduation rates by any language group that had fewer than 10 graduates. We found that 23 percent of Spanish-speaking high school ELL newcomers graduated, compared to much higher rates among those who spoke Russian (65 percent), Cambodian (52 percent), and Vietnamese (51 percent) (figure 8, table 8). 10 REL Northwest

Figure 8. Spanish-speaking high school ELL newcomers graduated at lower rates than other high school ELL newcomer language groups Russian 65% Cambodian 52% Vietnamese 51% Cantonese 44% Amharic 41% Nepali 33% Somali 33% Spanish 23% Table 8. Percentage of high school ELL newcomers graduating, by home language Percent of high school Graduated Home language N ELL newcomers n percent Russian 37 3.2 24 64.9 Cambodian 25 2.2 13 52.0 Vietnamese 95 8.3 48 50.5 Cantonese 41 3.6 18 43.9 Amharic 27 2.4 11 40.7 Nepali 30 2.6 10 33.3 Somali 199 17.3 65 32.7 Spanish 337 29.4 78 23.1 Other languages (88) 357 31.1 158 44.3 All languages 1,148 425 37.0 Road Map Newcomer Graduation Rates 11

Discussion questions REL Northwest drafted the following questions to help Road Map district educators and stakeholders create meaning of the findings, understand their implications for the Road Map districts high school ELL newcomer population, and plot next steps in establishing alterative pathways to graduation for these students. Why was the transfer rate among high school ELL newcomers so high? The study found that 29 percent of high school ELL newcomers transferred out of Road Map districts. This transfer rate is much higher than the 17 percent transfer rate reported by OSPI for high school students in 2012/13. Are Road Map s high school ELL newcomer students actually transferring? If so, to where? If not, what is happening to them? Is the transfer rate something that Road Map district educators and stakeholders should be concerned about? Why did so many high school ELL newcomers have unknown outcomes? Nearly half (47 percent) of the high school ELL newcomers in this study period had unknown outcomes. That is, they did not graduate, drop out, or continue to be a student in Washington. What happened to them? Why is data quality so poor? Could it be that these students simply did not inform their school that they were leaving, or are there other possibilities? How can we find out what happened to these students? Why were high school ELL newcomers who entered school in grade 9 the least likely to graduate? High school ELL newcomers who entered Road Map schools in grade 9 were less likely to graduate from high school than those who entered in later grades. Despite that, the majority of high school ELL newcomers are placed into grade 9 when they enter school, regardless of their age. Does this result show that the least prepared students those with the fewest credits are placed into grade 9, or are there other placement policies that should be examined? For example, are all students able to transfer their credits? Why were Latino high school ELL newcomers the least likely to graduate? Latino high school ELL newcomers were less likely to graduate from high school than Asian, Black, or White high school ELL newcomers. Similarly, Spanish-speaking high school ELL newcomers were less likely to graduate compared to students in other language groups. Do family income, education, or parents English language facility contribute to this outcome? What do we know about the immigrant community the newcomers are joining? What support structures are in place? What other data might we need to understand this finding? What else do we need to know? In spite of limitations caused by missing outcome data, it is clear that high school ELL newcomers have a substantially lower rate of graduation than their peers. The Road Map ELL Workgroup has considered establishing alterative pathways to graduation for these students, such as placing them in community college ELL newcomer programs. What else do we need to know to design effective and appropriate interventions that improve high school graduation rates for ELL newcomers and better prepare them for postsecondary education and careers? 12 REL Northwest

References Callahan, R. M. (2005). Tracking and high school English learners: Limiting opportunity to learn. American Educational Research Journal, 42(2), 305 328. http://eric.ed.gov/?id=ej737124 Community Center for Education Results, Road Map Project. (2011). The Road Map Project baseline report: Sparking collective action from cradle to college & career. Seattle, WA: Community Center for Education Results. Retrieved August 9, 2012, from http://www.roadmapproject.org/wpcontent/uploads/2012/07/the_road_map_project_baseline_report_2011.pdf Francis, D. J., Rivera, M., Lesaux, N., Kieffer, M., & Rivera, H. (2006). Research-based recommendations for serving adolescent newcomers: Practical guidelines for the education of English language learners. Portsmouth, NH: RMC Research Corporation, Center on Instruction. http://eric.ed.gov/?id=ed517791 Malagon, H., McCold, P., & Hernandez, J. (2012). Report to the Legislature: Educating English language learners in Washington 2011 2012. Olympia, WA: Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction, Office of Bilingual Education. Retrieved February 21, 2014, from https://www.k12.wa.us/migrantbilingual/pubdocs/tbiplegislativereport2011-12.pdf Malagon, H., McCold, P., & Nelson, J. J. (2013). UPDATE: Transitional Bilingual Instruction Program (TBIP) 2012-2013. Olympia, WA: Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction, Office of Bilingual Education. Retrieved May13, 2014, from http://www.k12.wa.us/legisgov/2013documents/transbilingual2013.pdf Oropesa, R. S., & Landale, N. S. (2009). Why do immigrant youths who never enroll in US schools matter? School enrollment among Mexicans and non-hispanic Whites. Sociology of Education, 82(3), 240 266. http://eric.ed.gov/?id=ej889305 Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction. English Language Learners: Enrollment, 2005 06 through 2012 13. Retrieved February 21, 2014, from http://data.k12.wa.us/publicdwp/web/washingtonweb/datatables/datatableslanding.as px?appid=450 Rance-Roney, J. (2009). Best practices for adolescent ELLs. Educational Leadership, 66(7), 32 37. http://eric.ed.gov/?id=ej836682 Short, D. J., & Boyson, B. A. (2012). Helping newcomer students succeed in secondary schools and beyond: A report to Carnegie Corporation of New York. Washington, DC: Center for Applied Linguistics. Retrieved September 14, 2012, from http://www.cal.org/resourcecenter/publications/helping-newcomer-students Road Map Newcomer Graduation Rates 13

Suárez-Orozco, C., Bang, H. J., & Kim, H. Y. (2011). I felt like my heart was staying behind: Psychological implications of family separations & reunifications for immigrant youth. Journal of Adolescent Research, 26(2), 222 257. http://eric.ed.gov/?id=ej912450 White, M. J., & Kaufman, G. (1997). Language usage, social capital, and school completion among immigrants and native-born ethnic groups. Social Science Quarterly, 78(2), 385 398. 14 REL Northwest