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Using a regression discontinuity design, the study estimates the causal effect of classifying kindergarten entrants as English learners on medium-to-long-term academic trajectories. Among language-minority students entering with relatively advanced English proficiency, EL classification shows a substantial negative net impact on math and ELA test scores from Grades 2 to 10, concentrated in English immersion classrooms.",{"@graph":69,"@context":122},[70,84,105],{"@type":71,"itemListElement":72},"BreadcrumbList",[73,77,79,82],{"item":74,"name":75,"@type":76,"position":8},"https://docshare.wps.com","Home","ListItem",{"item":78,"name":9,"@type":76,"position":14},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/",{"item":80,"name":40,"@type":76,"position":81},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/research-report/",3,{"item":83,"name":65,"@type":76,"position":19},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/to-be-or-not-to-be-el-an-examination-of-the-impact-of-classifying-students-as-english-learners/602532/",{"url":83,"name":65,"@type":85,"image":86,"author":91,"headline":65,"publisher":94,"fileFormat":97,"inLanguage":63,"description":67,"dateModified":98,"datePublished":99,"encodingFormat":97,"isAccessibleForFree":100,"interactionStatistic":101},"DigitalDocument",{"url":87,"@type":88,"width":89,"height":90},"https://docshare.wps.com/thumbnails/to-be-or-not-to-be-el-an-examination-of-the-impact-of-classifying-students-as-english-learners/602532.png","ImageObject",300,407,{"name":92,"@type":93},"pixelkiddo","Person",{"url":74,"name":95,"@type":96},"DocShare","Organization","application/pdf","2026-11-04","2026-10-15",true,{"@type":102,"interactionType":103,"userInteractionCount":29},"InteractionCounter",{"@type":104},"ViewAction",{"@type":106,"mainEntity":107},"FAQPage",[108,114,118],{"name":109,"@type":110,"acceptedAnswer":111},"What is the core question of the study on EL classification?","Question",{"text":112,"@type":113},"The article examines how classifying students as English learners affects their educational outcomes and under what circumstances, using a causal approach around the EL–IFEP threshold.","Answer",{"name":115,"@type":110,"acceptedAnswer":116},"How does EL classification affect academic performance for students at the margin of the EL threshold?",{"text":117,"@type":113},"Students classified as EL, compared with similarly situated IFEP students, have significantly lower math and ELA test scores in Grades 2 through 10.",{"name":119,"@type":110,"acceptedAnswer":120},"Does the impact of EL classification differ by instructional program type?",{"text":121,"@type":113},"The negative effect is concentrated in English immersion classrooms, while the effects are neutral for students in at least two of the three two-language programs.","https://schema.org",{"og:url":83,"og:type":124,"og:title":65,"og:site_name":95,"og:description":67},"article",{"robots":126,"canonical":83},"index,follow",{"doc_id":128,"site_id":62},602532,1792208769,{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":131},{"doc_id":128,"user_id":132,"nickname":92,"user_avatar":133,"doc_module":4,"category_id":39,"category_name":40,"doc_title":65,"doc_description":67,"doc_content":134,"file_id":135,"file_url":136,"file_type":137,"file_size":138,"view_count":29,"is_deleted":4,"is_public":8,"is_downloadable":8,"audit_status":8,"page_count":139,"language":140,"language_code":63,"site_id":62,"html_lang":63,"table_of_contents":141,"faqs":142,"seo_title":143,"seo_description":67,"update_tm":144,"read_time":26},962090883892,"https://ap-avatar.wpscdn.com/avatar/e00115db34f3e0f11b?x-image-process=image/resize,m_fixed,w_180,h_180&k=1790152879550218658","Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis December 2016, Vol. 38, No. 4, pp. 714–737 DOI: 10.3102/0162373716664802  \n© 2016 AERA. [http://eepa.aera.net](http://eepa.aera.net)  \nTo Be or Not to Be EL: An Examination of the Impact of Classifying Students as English Learners  \nIlana M. Umansky  \nUniversity of Oregon  \nAcross the United States, students who are deemed not to be proficient in English are classified as English learners (ELs). This classification entitles students to specialized services but may also result in stigmatization and barriers to educational opportunity. This article uses a regression discontinuity design to estimate the effect of EL classification in kindergarten on students’ academic trajectories. Furthermore, it explores whether the effect of EL classification differs for students in English immersion versus bilingual programs. I find that among language-minority students who enter kindergarten with relatively advanced English proficiency, EL classification results in a substantial negative net impact on math and English language arts test scores in Grades 2 through 10.  \nThis effect, however, is concentrated in English immersion classrooms.  \nKeywords: immigration/immigrants, longitudinal studies, educational policy, regression discontinuity, bilingual/bicultural  \nIn schools across the United States, students who speak a language other than English at home have their English assessed when they first enter school. Those who score below a set threshold are classified as “English learners”(ELs) . Those who score at or above the threshold are considered initially fluent English proficient (IFEP) .1 IFEP students are mainstream students, receiving the same services as students who speak only English. Although IFEP classification is neutral, EL classification carries with it important legal implications for the provision of services and treatments. EL classification is tightly linked to the provision of English language development (ELD) instruction, as well as other programmatic effects such as “sheltered” academic content instruction and, in some locales, instruction in students’ home languages. In addition to these programmatic treatments generated by EL classification, research suggests that EL classification may also generate status effects such as diminished teacher expectations or social stigma.  \nWith seemingly positive treatments and seemingly negative treatments, it is unclear how EL  \nclassification impacts students and under what circumstances. This article investigates these questions. It examines the impact of EL classification in kindergarten on a set of students’ medium-to long-term educational outcomes using data from a large urban school district in California.  \nThe article takes advantage of a natural experiment that occurs at the cusp of EL–IFEP classification. As I will show, kindergarten students who score at or just above the EL threshold on the English assessment are indistinguishable from those who score just below the threshold in every way except their subsequent language classification. Any average differences in the educational trajectories of these two groups are the result of their language classification status and associated treatments.  \nI find that students at the margin of EL–IFEP classification in kindergarten (I refer to these students as marginal or cusp students) and who are classified as EL, as compared with IFEP, have significantly lower test scores in math and English language arts (ELA) in Grades 2 through 10. Point estimates suggest that this gap is  \nTo Be orNot to Be EL  \nsizable in second grade and grows slowly in magnitude as students progress through elementary and secondary school. By the secondary level, the effect is equivalent to roughly one quarter of California’s achievement gap between Latinos and Whites in ELA and math. These results are only generalizable to students who enter kindergarten with relatively advanced English proficiency and may also ","cbCaiitdKpXiBJHI","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaiitdKpXiBJHI","pdf",1436321,24,"English","# Overview\n## Research design and main findings\n## Definitions of EL and IFEP\n# Instructional programs and treatment mechanisms\n## Programmatic treatments\n## Status treatments","[{\"question\":\"What is the core question of the study on EL classification?\",\"answer\":\"The article examines how classifying students as English learners affects their educational outcomes and under what circumstances, using a causal approach around the EL–IFEP threshold.\"},{\"question\":\"How does EL classification affect academic performance for students at the margin of the EL threshold?\",\"answer\":\"Students classified as EL, compared with similarly situated IFEP students, have significantly lower math and ELA test scores in Grades 2 through 10.\"},{\"question\":\"Does the impact of EL classification differ by instructional program type?\",\"answer\":\"The negative effect is concentrated in English immersion classrooms, while the effects are neutral for students in at least two of the three two-language programs.\"}]","To Be or Not to Be EL - An Examination of the Impact of Classifying Students as English Learners | PDF",1792094828]