News & Media

English Immersion Delivers Shining Results in California

Nearly half of limited English speakers test fluent on most recent exam

"There can no longer be any doubt that English immersion was the right path for California's immigrant students," said Mauro E. Mujica, Chairman of U.S. English, Inc. "Hundreds of thousands of children will find new opportunities in higher education and employment, doors opened by the power of English fluency. Under the guidance of a sensible language policy, we have outlined another great chapter in the American immigration story."

According to the results, 47 percent of California English language learners (ELLs) in grades K-12 scored at the "advanced" or "early advanced" levels on the 2004-05 California English Language Development Test (CELDT). Fluency rates inched up from 43 percent on the 2003-04 CELDT and have nearly doubled since the inaugural measurement in 2001-02. The improvements have been recorded in school districts around the state, including Los Angeles, where 49 percent of ELL students reached the standard in 2004-05, more than triple the 16-percent rate of four years earlier.

The rapid rise in English proficiency exhibits the opposite effect of what opponents of Prop. 227 claimed would occur. "When English immersion was first suggested as a replacement for failing bilingual education programs, we were told by a vocal minority that we were making a mistake," Mujica explained. "Yet Prop. 227 passed with 61 percent of the vote and the support of the majority of voters in all but one county. A third straight year of rising test scores demonstrates that Californians made the right choice when they asked that their children be educated in English.

"The gains over the past few years have been tremendous, but there remains work to be done. In America's classrooms, boardrooms and legislative halls, we need to redouble our efforts to ensure fluency in English. I hope elected officials nationwide will adapt California's model to their communities in order to serve their English language learners."

U.S. English, Inc. is the nation's oldest and largest non-partisan citizens' action group dedicated to preserving the unifying role of the English language in the United States. Founded in 1983 by the late Sen. S.I. Hayakawa of California, U.S. English, Inc. (www.usenglish.org) now has more than 1.8 million members.