0.2 Reading and math differences between hispanic students and  (Page 8/10)

Regarding the research question concerning math for the 7 academic school years (2002-2009) for Hispanic students and students who were LEP, statistically significant differences were yielded for all years of data. Across the 7-year time period, the average passing rate in math for Hispanic students was 73.98% whereas for students who were LEP, the average passing rate was 59.61%. Hispanic students outperformed students who were LEP by an average of 14.61% in math. The effect size range for the 7-year time period was moderate (0.72-0.74) to large (0.84- 1.41). For Hispanic and students who were LEP, a large effect size in math extended across a 5-year time period (i.e., 2003-2004, 2004-2005, 2005-2006, 2006-2007, and 2007-2008) and a moderate effect size continued across a 2-year time period (i.e., 2002-2003 and 2008-2009). For the 7-year time period, the trend concerning the difference in passing rates in math between Hispanic students and students who were LEP in elementary school revealed a continuous achievement gap. Average differences in math between Hispanic students were 10.96% to 24.56% higher than for students who were LEP, over the 7-year time period.

In each case, students with a programmatic label of Limited English Proficient had statistically significantly lower passing rates in both reading and in math than Hispanic students. The gap between the passing rates for these two groups of students remained consistent across the 7 years of data. Accordingly, in our opinion, cause for concern exists. Clearly, as evidenced by the consistent and strong findings in this study, a lack of equity is still present and needs to be addressed.

Academic achievement in relation to ethnic minorities and students in bilingual and English as a Second Language classes has received growing interest from researchers and federal policy makers (Celeste&Stokes-Brown, 2009; Kim&Sunderman, 2005; Lee, 2002; Lee&Wong, 2004; Powers, 2004; Ravitch, 2009; Rothstein&Jacobsen, 2009; Schiller&Muller, 2003). The enactment of the No Child Left Behind Law fueled assumptions among politicians and lobby makers that the federal government can “improve our nations schools” (No Child Left Behind: A Desktop Reference, 2002, p. 9). The No Child Left Behind Act was encompassed by four fundamental principles: greater accountability of states, districts, and school administration, flexible control to spend education money, enhanced parental choice, and teaching methods that are research based (No Child Left Behind: A Desktop Reference, 2002).

Since the implementation of NCLB, researchers have reported great difficulty in diminishing the achievement gap among minority students and minimal improvements have been observed by researchers (Fry, 2007; Rojas-LeBouef&Slate, 2011a, 2011b; Rossell, 2006). In our opinion, based upon our analyses of these statewide data, the No Child Left Behind law has allowed inequity among minority students to continue.

Recommendations

For the present research investigation, Hispanic students outperformed students with LEP in both reading and math standardized tests for 7 years. For every year analyzed, the achievement gap was present with a moderate to large effect size for Hispanic students and students with LEP. When results of this study are linked with the results of Rojas-LeBouef and Slate (2011b), a moderate to large achievement gap was documented between White students and Hispanic students over an extended period of time.