Prevalence of Content & Language Teacher Collaboration for Secondary ELs - Findings from a National Survey - Key Considerations for Implementation

Oct 15, 2026

May 2026 brief examining how teacher collaboration supports English learner (EL)-classified multilingual learners (MLs) across U.S. middle and high schools. It defines co-planning, co-teaching, co-assessing, and co-reflecting, reports district-level prevalence during 2020–2021, and compares patterns by district characteristics and content areas. Findings show collaboration is more common in middle than high school, varies by EL classification and district size, and is far less frequent in non-core subjects. Implementation depends on qualified staffing, scheduling time, and capacity to measure impact, with opportunities alone not ensuring instructional quality.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages2

Reading Time5 min

AccessFree to download

Key Concepts and Definitions

Co-planning, co-teaching, co-assessing, and co-reflecting

Purpose of Collaboration for EL-Classified MLs

Collaborative Practices in U.S. Middle and High Schools

District prevalence in 2020–2021

Variation by district characteristics (grades 6–12)

Content Areas and Collaboration

Differences by grade span and subject areas

Key Considerations for Implementation

MAY 2026 Prevalence of Content & Language Teacher Collaboration for Secondary ELs Findings from a National Survey How do we define teacher collaboration for English learner (EL)-classified multilingual learners (MLs)? Co-planning , in which a content teacher and an English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) teacher engage in lesson planning with content and language aims in mind Co-teaching , in which a content teacher and an ESOL teacher teach the same group of students , often a mix of EL-classified MLs and non-EL-classified students Co-assessing , in which both teachers engage in student assessment of EL-classified MLs Co-reflecting , in which both teachers reflect on student learning to help plan future instruction What is the purpose of teacher collaboration for ELclassified MLs? Because few content teachers are certified to teach ESOL , teacher collaboration allows ELclassified MLs to benefit from the expertise of a content teacher (e.g. , an English Language Arts/ELA , social studies/SS , math , science , art , or physical education/PE teacher) and a teacher who specializes in ESOL. Rather than studying content and language separately , EL-classified MLs are able to learn English as it is specifically used in the content area. Collaborative Practices in U.S. Middle Schools and High Schools | | Middle School | High School | | --- | --- | --- | | Co-planning | 86% | 64% | | Co-teaching | 71% | 65% | | Co-assessing | 84% | 64% | | Co-reflecting | 86% | 70% | Among the 216 districts who responded to the survey , more than 70% overall reported that collaborative practices were present in their district during the 2020-2021 school year. All four collaborative practices were more common at the middle school level than at the high school level. Engagement in Collaborative Practices in Grades 6-12 by District Characteristics | | All | High
EL | Low
EL | Rural | Urban | Med/
Large | Small | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Co-planning | 78% | 87%* | 66%* | 75% | 78% | 92% | 74% | | Co-teaching | 60% | 56% | 66% | 55% | 61% | 83%** | 55%** | | Co-assessing | 64% | 69% | 57% | 63% | 65% | 79% | 61% | | Co-reflecting | 78% | 81% | 74% | 77% | 78% | 84% | 76% | *PR> ChiSq: .038; **PR> ChiSq: .016. Tests were not conducted for co-planning by district size due to low sample size Among the various types of districts we surveyed , there were different patterns of implementation according to some district characteristics. For example, two statistically significant patterns were that co-planning was more prevalent in high EL than low EL districts, and co-teaching was more prevalent in medium/large than small districts. (High EL districts were those in which the population of EL-classified MLs exceeded 10% . Low EL districts were those in which the population of EL-classified MLs ranged between 5% and 9 .9% . Medium/Large districts were those that enrolled 12 ,000 or more students. Small districts were those that enrolled between 500 and 11 ,999 students.) Content Areas and Collaboration Due to the increased cost of compensating two teachers , most districts made strategic decisions about which content areas would be the focus of collaborative practices. In our study , districts reported that a slightly greater proportion of ELA classes engaged in all four collaborative practices than in math , science , and social studies. This was the case in both middle school and high school. At the middle school level , co-reflecting took place with slightly greater frequency than other collaborative practices in every content area. In highschool , no consistent pattern was present. At both grade spans , collaborative practices were far less common in non-core subjects. Collaborative Practices by Content Area Middle School Collaborative Practices by Content Area High School Key Considerations for Implementation: Open-ended survey responses suggest that both re

FAQs

How is teacher collaboration defined for EL-classified multilingual learners?

Teacher collaboration includes co-planning, co-teaching, co-assessing, and co-reflecting, each involving both a content teacher and an ESOL teacher in planning, instruction, assessment, and reflection.

What patterns show up in prevalence between middle school and high school?

All four collaborative practices are more common at the middle school level than at the high school level, with co-planning and co-reflecting especially higher in middle schools.

Which content areas show higher levels of collaborative practices?

ELA classes show a slightly greater proportion engaging in all four collaborative practices than math, science, and social studies. Collaborative practices are far less common in non-core subjects at both grade spans.

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Quinn Holloway