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February 2008 GW’s Graduate School of Education and Human Development Receives Grant to Study Academic Demands for English Language Learners A new $600,000 grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation will enable GW researchers to examine in-depth the proficiency required for English language learners to succeed in higher-level science and mathematics courses. Given to the Graduate School of Education and Human Development’s Center for Equity and Excellence in Education, the grant will fund a 26-month investigation in which the center will work with California and New York state departments of education to identify the academic language necessary to pursue and excel in science and math courses. The project will identify the specialized language implicit within California’s algebra and New York’s biology standards. Both states have large populations of English language learners and needs for academic language resources. “Courses like algebra and biology are gatekeepers for students to advance in the fields of mathematics and science and are often requirements for high school graduation,” says Charlene Rivera, executive director of the Center for Equity and Excellence in Education. “This project will allow us to examine language required by students to advance in these important areas of study. Using the resources and materials developed from the project, state departments of education can improve their accountability and support systems and become more responsive to English language learners.” Mary Futrell, dean of GW’s Graduate School of Education and Human Development and professor of education, says, “Through this research, we are hoping to improve the education of middle and high school students whose first language is not English. As a higher education institution, this grant defines and explains our commitment to post-secondary opportunities. By improving students’ understanding of language in areas such as math and science, we can make pivotal changes in students’ educational futures.” The project team, led by co-principal investigators Rivera and Kristina Anstrom, along with project director Patricia DiCerbo, will seek to determine major concepts and skills English language learners must know and be able to use to succeed in algebra and biology; the academic language needed to comprehend, discuss, and write about these subjects; the terminology required to learn content skills; and the words and concepts in the two academic disciplines most difficult to learn. The center project team will hold a pilot working session in each state during the summer of 2008. The analysis teams of state and district-level mathematics, science, and English language specialists and curriculum directors will conduct the pilot session under the direction of the center’s project team. After developing an academic language framework for these courses, analysis teams will return in the summer of 2009 for another working session to confirm and revise their previous developed framework. Throughout the study, researchers will work to create a Web-based platform to provide state departments of education resources and information on the academic language English language learners need to access standards-based instruction. Results from the project work will be presented to the state departments of education allowing them to discuss and contribute to the findings. The center also will offer a forum for state departments of education and national and state assessment, science, and mathematics organizations. GW’s Center for Equity and Excellence in Education is part of the Graduate School of Education and Human Development’s Institute for Education Policy Studies. The center’s mission is to advance education reform so that all students achieve high standards.
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