Bilingual or Immersion?
A new group of studies is providing fresh evidence that it’s not the language of instruction that counts, but the quality of education
By Kendra Hamilton
Eight years ago, Proposition 227 virtually eliminated bilingual education in California’s K-12 schools. Since then, the English-only approach has made inroads in states like Arizona and Massachusetts, where ballot initiatives have created even more restrictive “English immersion” programs than California’s. In Colorado, backers of a failed ballot initiative are trying again, this time with a campaign for a constitutional amendment.
But a group of new studies is providing fresh evidence of what many researchers have been saying all along: English immersion has more political appeal than educational merit.
“We’re saying it’s not possible given the data available to definitively answer the question ‘which is better — bilingual or immersion?’” says Dr. Amy Merickel, co-author of “Effects of the Implementation of Proposition 227 on the Education of English Learners K-12.” The five-year, $2.5 million study was conducted for the state of California by the American Institutes for Research and WestEd.
“We don’t see conclusive evidence that bilingual education is superior to English immersion, and we don’t see conclusive evidence for the reverse,” Merickel says. “We think it’s the wrong question. It’s not the model of instruction that matters — it’s the quality.”
