Researching English Language and Literacy Development in Schools

There is a curious disjuncture in the current discourse(s) on the schooling of immigrant and minority students. The official discourse, as has been communicated through the federal No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 rhetoric and the concomitant focus on standards and assessment, says that minority children, especially English language learners (ELLs) must gain “standard” English language skills in an unreasonably short time frame, while achieving on par with native English speaking students in academic content areas. Policy decisions at federal, state, and local levels are being made without input from educational researchers and professionals who have expertise in these areas. However, even within educational circles there is heated debate about how best to educate ELLs, and what “best practices” and “best programs” look like.