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LOS ANGELES, June 30 -- The private company that is paid $34 million to administer
statewide achievement tests admitted Tuesday that it had misclassified about 300,000
students as not being fluent in English, a blunder that may have skewed school district
reports across California for the past month. The effect of that error could be seen in scores
released Tuesday by the Los Angeles Unified School District. The district initially reported
stunning, double-digit gains in the Stanford 9 scores achieved by students who were not yet
fluent in English. Later, because the overall scores had inched up only slightly, officials
realized the gains couldn't be real. (Los Angeles Times)
FULLERTON, June 26 -- Betty Othmer wasn't surprised that her Spanish-speaking
students' test scores improved this year, because they've been taught almost exclusively in
English. "If I'd been taught in one language and tested in another, it doesn't take a rocket
scientist to see scores aren't going to be very good," said Othmer, a second-grade teacher at
Richman Elementary School. Reading scores among second-graders at Richman climbed to
the 21st percentile from the 15th percentile last year. Critics of bilingual education cite
such gains as evidence that English-only instruction is a success. (Orange County Register)
LOS ANGELES, June 25 -- Despite many successes in English-only classes for non-native
English-speaking students in the first school year after Proposition 227, LAUSD officials
plan to continue offering classes in which teachers can use as much Spanish as they want.
Many principals, teachers and parents said English-only classes offered under the "Model A"
program have worked well. But the district is embarking on the second year at an estimated
cost of $30 million for stipends to teachers in "Model B" classes using Spanish as a safety
net without evidence that the system has resulted in better student performance. (Los
Angeles Daily News)
OCEANSIDE, June 24 -- Despite fears that limited-English speakers would be hurt by a
statewide initiative banning bilingual education, test scores from a Southern California
district that closely adhered to Prop. 227 have nearly doubled in the months since it took
effect. "These scores are a great way to end the school year," said Cindy Sabato, a public
information officer for the Oceanside Unified School District. "It's been very difficult year;
there's been a lot of frustration structuring the English immersion program. It's such a joy
to share what a wonderful job they did." (AsianWeek)
OCEANSIDE, June 16 -- In one of the state's first report cards on Proposition 227, the test
scores of Oceanside's non- English-speaking students have skyrocketed after their first year
of English-only instruction. Data released by Oceanside yesterday shows the scores of its
English-language learners increased dramatically in every subject at every grade level
tested. The figures are among the earliest empirical data to contrast pre-and post
Proposition 227 test scores. (San Diego Union Tribune)
ORANGE COUNTY, Calif. June 3 -- Last June, the Oak View Elementary School, with its
largely Spanish-speaking pupils, became the local center of a statewide effort to end
bilingual education in public schools. And one year after the overwhelming approval of
Proposition 227 and the heated race and discrimination debates that led up to it, Oak View
educators have done their best to adapt to the new rules. "Philosophically, bilingual
education is the best way to go," said Oak View Principal Karen Catabijan. "But obeying the
law, we have implemented an effective program here." Despite the obstacles of rewriting
entire lesson plans and developing new teaching strategies, Catabijan said the Oak View staff
successfully implemented an English-immersion program at the school, where 99% of the
students are Spanish speakers. (Los Angeles Times)
LOS ANGELES, June 2 -- One year ago this week, California voters went to the polls--and
over the heads of their elected state legislators--passed Proposition 227, a ballot initiative
that called on voters to "help end bilingual education in California." The law, which took
effect in the fall, requires schools in most cases to teach limited-English-proficient
students almost entirely in English. The reality has turned out to be far more varied and
complex. Includes: "Interpretations of Prop. 227 Vary Widely, Experts Say." (Education
Week)
TUCSON, June 2 -- Almost immediately after California voters approved a ballot initiative
last June to severely curtail bilingual education in their public schools, pundits and policy
analysts wondered whether similar measures would crop up in other states. In Arizona, the
seeds have been sown for what critics of bilingual education hope will be an instant replay of
California's move. A Tucson-based group of parents and teachers is starting to rally support
for a ballot measure nearly identical to California's Proposition 227 that would go before
voters in the November 2000 election. Like California's, the Arizona proposal calls for
limited-English-proficient students to learn English by being taught in English, in most
cases, for no more than a year--in specially designed English-immersion programs-
before moving into the mainstream. The Arizona organizers have filed their initiative
petition with state election officials and are starting to collect signatures; they need
101,762 by next July to qualify for the 2000 ballot. The architect of California's
initiative, Ron K. Unz, has pledged financial and organizational help to the Arizona group.
Mr. Unz is a multimillionaire Silicon Valley software entrepreneur who in 1994 ran an
unsuccessful Republican primary challenge to then-Gov. Pete Wilson. Mr. Unz also recently
proposed a ballot measure to overhaul California's campaign-finance and disclosure laws.
(Education Week)
CAMARILLO, June 2 -- County school officials have decided to continue paying for bilingual
teacher training and recruitment, despite concerns that the programs go against the will of
local voters who approved Proposition 227. After several Ventura County educators voiced
support for bilingual programs at a meeting Tuesday morning, trustees decided to set aside
about $230,000 in state funds. Without the money, the educators argued, the county could
face a shortage of qualified teachers and be forced to hire those ill-equipped to instruct the
27,000 county students who speak limited English. "The programs will be watered down,
the teachers won't be as effective with their students, and the kids will lose," said Cliff
Rodrigues, county director of bilingual education. (Los Angeles Times)
