LINGUISTIC MINORITY RESEARCH INSTITUTE

California Study of English Language Learners
A Research Initiative of the UC LMRI Faculty Steering Committee

The future well being of California's economy will increasingly depend on the state's ability to successfully educate the increasing number of English Language Learners (ELLs) in our public schools.  Yet in order to improve the educational outcomes of English Language Learners, it is important to have comprehensive, longitudinal data that can be used to study their educational progress through school.

Recognizing this need, the UC Linguistic Minority Research Institute (UC LMRI) Faculty Steering Committee is undertaking a research initiative to develop a longitudinal database known as the California Study of English Language Learners (CSELL).  The database could be used for three important purposes: (1) to monitor the academic progress of California's ELLs as they move through elementary and secondary school, (2) to undertake research on the factors that promote or impede that progress, and (3) to help assess the impact of the many reform efforts in the state on ELLs, including Proposition 227 and UC outreach.

The database would be modeled on several national longitudinal studies that the federal government has initiated over the last three decades "to study the educational, vocational, and personal development of students at various grade levels, and the personal, familial, social, institutional, and cultural factors that may affect that development." [1]

These longitudinal studies, which are based on surveys of students, teachers, and parents as well as test scores and student records, have been used by countless researchers throughout the United States to study a variety of fundamental issues about schooling and student performance, such as academic achievement, parental involvement, and school dropouts.

CSELL could complement other federal and state data collection efforts. For example, the federal government began a national longitudinal study of kindergartners who entered school in the fall of 1988, known as the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study (ECLS).[2] The California Department of Education is developing the California School Information Services (CSIS), which will facilitate the sharing electronically of comparable, student-level records.[3] And the University of California is collecting data on students, teachers, and schools through its Outreach activities and its Professional Development Institutes.

The development of CSELL would be a long-term effort beyond the financial means of UC LMRI. The purpose of the UC LMRI research initiative is to support the initial development of CSELL.

The work will include:  (1) developing and evaluating instruments to assess literacy of students and the literacy practices of teachers and families; (2) developing web-based data collection and data management tools; (3) studying the feasibility of linking the development of CSELL with other, on-going data collection efforts as well as the development of a more broad-based California Education Longitudinal Study to study the educational progress of all students in the state.[4]

A series of projects was proposed for CSELL, as noted above, some of which were completed, and others were not. Not all funds were spent as allocated, as indicated below:

Proposed CSELL Projects	Projected Completion	Allocated Funding	Actual Funds Disbursed
Developing a California Education Longitudinal Study Phil Kaufman, MPR Associates	September 2002 (completed)	$25,000*	$24,958.46**
Development and Longitudinal Validations of Two Bilingual Assessments Michael M. Gerber, UC Santa Barbara	Winter 2004 (completed Spring 2004)	$40,000	$40,000
Development of a Diagnostic Writing Assessment for Secondary English Learners Robin Scarcella, UC Irvine	Fall 2004; revised to December 2005; currently ongoing	$35,000	$22,059.99***
Developing a Protocol for Assessing Classroom Learning Environments Kris Gutíerrez, UCLA	Fall 2004; revised to Fall 2005; cancelled (not completed)	$8,500	$0.00
Totals		$100,000.00	$87,060.00

*$8,500 of cost shared by UCOP
**$41.54 balance cancelled
***$12,940.01 balance to be disbursed in 2007-08

[1] Ingles, S. J., Scott, L. A., Lindmark, J. T., Frankel, M. R., & Myers, S. L. National Education Longitudinal Study of 1988, First Follow-up:  Student Component Data File User's Manual. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of Education (1992), p. 1

[2] West, J.  (1998).  Early Childhood Longitudinal Study:  Kindergarten Class of 1998-99.  Washington, D.C.:  National Center for Education Statistics

[3] Information on CSIS is available from their website at: http://www.csis.k12.ca.us/

[4] See A Prospectus to Develop a California Education Longitudinal Study, November 7, 2000.