¶ … local school district has recently implemented a program designed to support students who are currently in need of training in English as a Second Language (ESL).ESL students come from a country and/or culture where they speak a language other than English in the home. Not being native English speakers put these students at a disadvantage, both verbally and in written form. The school district would like to measure the effectiveness of ESL programs, and the benefits that the ESL program offers to the students who use it. There are a few other issues that the school would like to see addressed in the study. These are the link between the program and overall academic progress, the satisfaction level that the students have with the program, and the satisfaction levels of other stakeholder as well (teachers, parents and administrators).
The study will measure the impact the ESL curriculum has had on student achievement levels. The null hypothesis is that there will be a positive correlation between enrollment in the ESL program and student academic performance. The independent variable is participation in the ESL program. The dependent variable will be student grades. These are quantitative figures that the school...
When combined with records of student participation in the ESL program, it can be determined whether or not students participating in the ESL program experience an improvement in their grades over time. The underlying theory is that the students will see improved performance because the ESL program will increase their competence and confidence studying in English. The study will focus on the first grade level. The control group will be data from prior years. In those years, a different curriculum was used for ESL students. The district has data on the academic performance of those students. The district also has demographic data, and this will be evaluated to ensure that the control group and the study group are comparable. The performance of native English speakers can serve as a baseline in the sense that it is expected the ESL program students will start at a lower achievement level than their native English speaking peers, but will see their academic performance move towards the non-native level over time.
The study will be set in the school district. The reason is that each district in the area runs its own ESL program, and the study intends to test the effectiveness of this district's program,…
