Effective Bilingual Education: From Theory to Academic Achievement in a Two-Way Bilingual Program

Program evaluation can be used to shift the debate on effective schools for bilingual students from an ideological impasse to a data- driven and research-based discussion. Using the example of the Barbieri Two-Way Bilingual Education Program in Framingham, Massachusetts, this article links theoretical understandings about bilingualism and second language acquisition to program design and implementation, and subsequently to academic outcomes. Disaggregated academic achievement data in English and Spanish show that the Barbieri program meets its academic and linguistic goals for both target groups by fifth grade. Reflections on these academic achievement patterns, in turn, have prompted changes in the program to further increase its effectiveness.