N.Y.C. Study Adds Fuel To Bilingual Ed. Debate

New York City students who were enrolled in English-as-a-second-language programs in the early grades tended to exit those programs sooner and do better on recent districtwide tests than children who were assigned to bilingual education, a district study that followed 16,500 limited-English-proficient students between 1990 and 1999 shows.

The study, which was conducted by district staff members and scheduled to be released this week by the New York City board of education, also found that students who enrolled in either kind of language program for a few years in the early grades generally did better on the tests than district students overall.

The report downplays the findings comparing ESL programs, in which all subjects are taught in English, with bilingual programs, in which at least some subjects are taught in...

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