• Population Trends in ELL Students
• Concentrations of ELL Students
• Conclusion
• References

This Issue Brief uses data from the 1993–94 and 1999–2000 Schools and Staffing Survey (SASS) to examine recent growth in the population of ELL students in public schools in the United States. In addition to an estimate of the national growth in the ELL population between the 1993–94 and 1999–2000 school years, the Issue Brief reports growth at the regional level.² Moreover, the Issue Brief describes regional differences in the concentration of ELL students within schools, reporting the percentage of schools within regions with varying distributions of ELL students.

Nationally, the number of ELL students in public schools increased from approximately 2 million students in 1993–94 to 3 million students in 1999–2000 (table 1). ELL students represented approximately 7 percent of the national public school population in 1999–2000, up from 5 percent in 1993–94.

This growth in the ELL student population was not evenly distributed across geographic regions. The West had the largest number of ELL students in public schools in 1993–94 and 1999–2000. Schools in the West identified 1.7 million of their students as ELL in 1999–2000, compared with 1.1 million students in 1993–94. In 1999–2000, 16 percent of public school students (or one in every six) in the West were identified as ELL, compared to 12 percent in 1993–94. The West's public school population also includes over half of the national total of ELL students.

The Northeast experienced a reduction in its share of all U.S. ELL students-from 15 percent of all ELL students in 1993–94 to 10 percent in 1999–2000. The number of ELL students in public schools in the Midwest and South increased between 1993–94 and 1999–2000. In the Midwest and South, this translated into an increase in the percentage of the public school population who were ELL, from 1.4 to 2.6 percent in the Midwest and from 3.5 to 4.5 percent in the South. In 1999–2000, the Midwest still had the lowest percentage of its public school population designated ELL of any region. As of 1999–2000, the South had a higher percentage of students who were ELL than did the Northeast.

The national or regionwide prevalence of ELL students does not provide a complete picture of the distribution of ELL students. For example, knowing that 16 percent of public school students in the West were ELL students does not tell us whether all schools in the region had ELL populations of 16 percent or whether the ELL students were concentrated more in some schools than others. The 1999–2000 SASS data allow examination of the distribution of ELL students at the school level.

Nationwide, over one-half of ELL students in public schools were in schools with less than 1 percent of their students designated ELL; this pattern was repeated in the Northeast, Midwest, and South (table 2). At the other end of the distribution, 7 percent of public schools had at least one-quarter of their students designated ELL; this percentage was lower in the Northeast, Midwest, and South. In contrast, in the West, 37 percent of public schools reported ELL populations under 1 percent and 19 percent reported ELL populations of at least 25 percent.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Schools and Staffing Survey (SASS), 1993–94 and 1999–2000 "Public School Questionnaire" and 1999–2000 "Charter School Questionnaire."

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Schools and Staffing Survey (SASS), 1999–2000 "Public School Questionnaire" and "Charter School Questionnaire."

The number of ELL students in the United States grew by about 900,000 students between 1993–94 and 1999–2000, but growth was not equal across regions. The Midwest, South, and West all showed an increase in the size of the ELL student population both in total and as a percentage of the total public school population. At the same time, the West had the largest population of public school students designated ELL, with more than half of the national total of ELL students in the 1999–2000 school year. Regional differences were apparent, as well, in terms of the concentration of ELL students in public schools, with ELL concentration most prevalent in the West.

This Issue Brief provides a profile of the location and concentration of public school ELL students. The Schools and Staffing Survey can be used to address other questions regarding the education of ELL students, including the characteristics of the schools with high concentrations of ELL students. SASS also contains information on techniques used to teach ELL students, as well as the programs schools offer to ELL students. A closer examination of this topic could reveal whether regional differences in the concentration of ELL students in public schools translate into differences in educational services provided for ELL students.

McCandless, E., Rossi, R., and Daugherty, S. (1997). Are Limited English Proficiency (LEP) Students Being Taught by Teachers With LEP Training? (NCES 97-907). U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office.

U.S. Census Bureau. (2002). "American Fact Finder." Available: http://factfinder.census.gov.

¹ The SASS school questionnaires use the term "Limited-English proficient" (LEP) to describe students whose native or dominant language is other than English and whose difficulties in speaking, reading, writing, or understanding the English language are sufficient to deny them the opportunity to learn successfully in an English-speaking-only classroom. The U.S. Department of Education is currently using the term "English Language Learners" (ELL). This Issue Brief uses ELL to be consistent with current usage.

² The regions used in the Issue Brief are those used by the U.S. Census Bureau: West (Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming); Northeast (Connecticut, Maine, Massa-chusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and Vermont); Midwest (Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, and Wisconsin); and South (Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, and West Virginia).