Chapter 4: The Achievement Gap for English Language Learners: The Law, the Challenges, and a Possible Solution

Education policies are intended to address societal needs while affording a certain degree of discretion to educators who maintain specialized expertise. Today’s modern school administrators face a variety of challenges in carrying out these education policies, a significant one being the task of providing effective instruction to an ever-growing group of English language learners (ELLs).¹ ELLs are children “whose difficulties in speaking, reading, writing, or understanding the English language may be sufficient to deny the individual . . . the ability to successfully achieve in classrooms where the language of instruction is English” (No Child Left Behind Act, 2014). ELLs are sometimes referred to as those with limited English proficiency, and “students being served in appropriate programs of language assistance (e.g., English as a Second Language, High Intensity Language Training, [and] bilingual education)” (DOE, 2013, p. 1).