A longitudinal study of Indiana dual-language bilingual education: Aspirations for equity

In this longitudinal study, we examine two cohorts of emergent bilinguals’ (EBs) academic achievement in Spanish/English dual language bilingual education (DLBE) and ESL programs in Indiana elementary schools over four academic years. Findings show that academic achievement is higher in English language arts (ELA) and Math for EBs in DLBE models by the end of elementary school. Despite higher achievement for EBs in DLBE, their pass rate is just above the minimum potentially excluding them from placement in grade level or advanced, enrichment-oriented courses in the secondary grades. Implications suggest that the promise of DLBE for biliteracy and academic achievement must be leveraged with a systematic look at tracking systems that may foreclose on the equity DLBE programs presumably embody. Copyright © 2019 AERA.