Does Reclassification Matter? An Examination of English Learner Status and High School Science Course-Taking in One Washington State School District

Abstract

This quantitative study examines the science course-taking outcomes and patterns of reclassified English learner (EL) students—a relatively large, yet often overlooked and not fully understood, sub-group. Inspired by the question, “Does reclassification out of English learner status matter for science course-taking?”, and the concept of opportunity to learn (OTL), I explore the relationship between reclassification before high school and access to and performance in rigorous, college-preparatory science course-taking in one urban district located in Washington State—a single-criterion reclassification policy context which represents the most common reclassification policy profile across U.S. states. Drawing on panel data from one cohort of students (N = 2,477), I employee descriptive and inferential statistical techniques to answer four research questions comparing the demographics, academic achievement, and rates of access to and performance in different science course tracks of three mutually-exclusive student subgroups: Reclassified ELs (N = 362), Still ELs (N = 227), and Never ELs (N = 1,888). Of most interest are the subgroups’ descriptive rates and predicted probabilities of achieving two important science course-taking milestones by the end of high school, and of enrolling in a college or university within one year of high school graduation. Descriptive results confirmed that Reclassified ELs in the district performed very well academically, often better than their Never EL peers, and always better than their Still EL peers. At the same time, by failing to meet the minimum college eligibility requirements for science course-taking, more than three of every ten Still ELs (36%) who attended all four years of high school in the district and successfully made it to Grade 12 were nonetheless apparently ineligible for admission to Washington State four-year public colleges and universities (compared to 13% of Reclassified ELs and 15% of Never ELs). Still ELs also experienced disproportionally high rates of exclusionary tracking, with almost a quarter (23%) not enrolled in any science class in Grade 9 (compared to 4% of Reclassified ELs and 8% of Never ELs). Multilevel models controlling for select student- and school-level factors indicated that Reclassified EL status was positively associated (p < .01), while Still EL status was negatively associated (p < .05), with meeting the two science course-taking milestones. Reclassified ELs exhibited a 91% predicted probability of meeting the science course-taking college eligibility requirements, compared to Still ELs’ 79% predicted probability, and Never ELs’ 86% predicted probability. However, after including statistical controls, neither Still EL status (p = .869) nor Reclassified EL status (p = .272) were found to be unique predictors of college enrollment. Implications for policy and practice and future research directions are discussed.