News Update

California will now break down data by English learner subgroup

Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a bill into law, that will break down academic achievement data for subgroups of English learners.

Assembly Bill 1868 requires the California Department of Education to report standardized test scores in English language arts, math and science for subgroups of English learners, including long-term English learners, defined as students who have been enrolled in U.S. schools for six years or more and have not advanced on the English proficiency test in two or more years, and those at risk of becoming long-term English learners. The bill also requires the department to report how many students are both English learners and have a disability.

Previously, the department reported test scores for English learners as a whole, but not for all specific subgroups.

Proponents of the bill say that separating the data on subgroups of English learners will give the state and local school districts a better picture of how each group is doing, which will help them provide more targeted support to groups such as long-term English learners.

“We are overjoyed about the success of AB 1868,” said Martha Hernandez, executive director of Californians Together, a statewide coalition that advocates for English learners. “This legislation will ensure that state, county, and district leaders have valuable information about the achievement of the over 200,000 long-term English learners (LTELs) and over 130,000 students at risk of becoming LTELs. Moreover, with over one in three LTELs being dually identified as students with disabilities, the provision to disaggregate special education data by language acquisition status and type of disability will be critical to informing our continuous improvement system.”