Longitudinal reading achievement and special education placement of English language learners as a joint function of first language (L1) proficiency, second language proficiency (L2), and early reading skills

To clarify the longitudinal relationship between language proficiency and decoding skills at the beginning of elementary school with reading skills at the conclusion of elementary school for English language learners, the English proficiency progress and reading performance of 3,321 students (2,375 from English immersion classrooms and 946 from bilingual education classrooms) were studied retrospectively. The contribution of kindergarten Spanish (L1) language proficiency, first grade English (L2) language proficiency, and first grade Spanish and English decoding to fifth grade word reading and reading comprehension was examined through a series of hierarchical linear regression analyses.; English decoding, Spanish decoding, and joint L1 and L2 language proficiency were significant predictors of English proficiency and reading performance. First grade English decoding strongly predicted fifth grade English proficiency (d = .99), word reading (d = .92), and reading comprehension (d = .82). For students in bilingual classrooms, first grade Spanish decoding strongly predicted fifth grade English proficiency (d = .77), and moderately predicted fifth grade word reading (d = .58) and reading comprehension (d = .54), replicating Cummins' (2000) transfer of academic skills from L1 to L2. Early joint L1 and L2 language proficiency strongly accounted for fifth grade English proficiency ( d = .81), and moderately explained word reading (d = .43) and reading comprehension (d = .39).; While no differences were noted in reading achievement between programs, Spanish language proficiency was a better predictor of word reading ( d = .32 vs. .11) and reading comprehension (d = .33 vs. .17) for students in immersion classrooms than for their peers in bilingual classrooms, pointing to the importance of entering school with good L1 language skills since students may use them as a scaffold to help them academically in English. Spanish proficiency was also a slightly better predictor of English proficiency in both second and fifth grade for students in immersion classrooms than for their peers in bilingual classrooms.; Spanish decoding had a medium to large effect in explaining fifth grade learning disability status and placement in special education pull-out programs. English decoding and joint L1 and L2 language skills made small, but significant, contributions in accounting for learning disability status and pull-out program placement.