Programs and Services for High School English Learners in Public School Districts: 2015–16

An estimated 774,500 high school-level English Learner (EL) students were enrolled in public schools in 2015-16, according a new report released today (October 11). About 62 percent of public school districts that have high school grades reported enrolling ELs at the high school level.

The National Center for Education Statistics, in the Institute of Education Sciences, released a new First Look report: Programs and Services for High School English Learners in Public School Districts: 2015–16. The data are from the first nationally representative survey on programs and services designed to serve high school ELs, including instructional approaches, newcomer programs, online/computer-based programs, and other targeted programs and services.

The report provides findings on the use of native language(s) for content instruction, instructional support, materials, and services. Data are also presented about the information that districts provide about educational programs or services to ELs ages 18 to 21 seeking to newly enroll in the district, as well as the factors districts consider when providing information about these programs and services to ELs in this group. Selected findings include:

•    Sixteen percent of districts with high school grades that had high school ELs reported having a newcomer program for ELs in high school. Among districts with a newcomer program, 52 percent indicated that it was designed to serve EL students with limited or interrupted education;

•    Among districts with high school grades that had high school ELs, 43 percent reported that they did not enroll any new EL students ages 18 to 21 as high school students in the last 12 months; 34 percent reported that they rarely enrolled any new EL students ages 18 to 21 in the same time period; 15 percent reported that they sometimes enrolled such students; and 6 percent reported that they had often enrolled such students;

•    Districts with high school grades that had high school ELs reported considering the following factors to a major extent when providing information about educational programs or services to English learners ages 18 to 21 seeking to newly enroll in the district: length of time needed to accrue sufficient credits to graduate (42 percent of the districts), student’s ability to meet high school graduation requirements in content area classes (41 percent), age of student at time of enrollment (38 percent), English proficiency level (34 percent), student’s ability to pass state tests required for graduation (27 percent), limited or interrupted formal education (25 percent), and literacy in their native language (18 percent of the districts).