Graduation Hurdles Prove High for ELLs
If assessments designed mostly for native English-speakers present an obstacle to English-language learners, exit exams that determine whether students graduate from high school can be a brick wall, according to some educators and researchers.
According to the Center on Education Policy, a Washington-based research and advocacy organization, 23 states require students to pass an exit exam to graduate—many without regard for those students’ English proficiency, how recently they entered the United States, or how much schooling—if any—they had in their home countries.
“Usually, five to seven years is the time it takes for students to be fully functional in an academic environment in English,” says H. Gary Cook, a researcher at the Wisconsin Center for Education Research, part of...
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