Bilingual & Immigrant Education

Study Criticized: A Boston University professor has criticized as unscientific a widely cited study that suggests two-way bilingual education programs are among the most promising methods for teaching language-minority students.

The study, which received some funding from the U.S. Department of Education, analyzed some 700,000 student records from 1982 to 1996 in five districts with large enrollments of limited-English-proficient students. The districts were not named in the 96-page report released late last year through the National Clearinghouse for Bilingual Education.

Among the study's main findings were that students enrolled in two-way bilingual programs showed the greatest educational gains over time, while those in traditional English-as-a-second-language programs--where students typically do not receive instruction in their...