New English Learners positively impact the learning outcomes of others

By Nathan Storey, Center for Research and Reform in Education, Johns Hopkins University

The number of English Learners (ELs) enrolled in U.S. public schools has increased dramatically over the past twenty years. New research demonstrates that having English learners in class positively affects outcomes of their classmates.

In a recent study, researchers from the RAND Corporation examined the impact of new ELs on the academic outcomes of their classmates in Delaware, a state that has seen increasing immigrant populations in recent years. Results showed significant positive effects in the short term of new ELs on the scores of their schoolmates, particularly among those who are current and former ELs.

The researchers examined school records of Delaware K-12 students between 2015 and 2019. During this time, nearly 1,500 new ELs entered Delaware public schools in grades 4-8. Subjects included  119,165 students, including over 11,000 former ELs and 10,215 current ELs. Once the authors accounted for the fact that new ELs enter schools non-randomly (that is, they are not randomly assigned to schools but select into certain schools for a variety of reasons), they found positive and statistically significant impacts for all students in reading, and on both reading and math for former and current ELs.

These findings challenge concerns about potential negative impacts of large-scale EL student entry into schools and highlight the educational benefits of diversity in a "new destination state" like Delaware.