The Academic Success of Native English Speakers Participating in a Two-Way Dual Language Program

Bilingual and biliterate students represent the changing world in both language and diversity. The purpose of the current study was to determine the academic performance of 5th grade native English speakers participating in a two-way dual language program in contrast to students participating in a general education classroom. The ex post facto study occurred in a large elementary school in a small North Texas school district and included a performance comparison of native English speakers participating in two-way dual language with native English speaking students receiving traditional monolingual instruction. The data analysis included a comparison between these two groups as demonstrated on Grade 5 STAAR Reading and Science tests in spring 2015, as well as the growth on the Grade 3 STAAR Reading assessment scores in 2013 to current Grade 5 STAAR Reading and Science performance as the covariate in the ANCOVA tests. The current study group included nine native English speakers in two-way dual language and nine students with comparable demographics receiving instruction in a monolingual English setting. Statistical Results from the ANCOVA tests showed a statistical difference in the achievement of native English speakers in two-way dual language in comparison to those in a general monolingual classroom.