This study compared reading and mathematics growth trajectories in a statewide dataset of 33,715 students across third through fifth grades. Specifically, we examined growth for English Learners (ELs) who were reclassified as no longer needing English Language services at different grade levels as compared to their never-EL peers. Overall, EL students performed significantly below never-EL students on reading and mathematics assessments at Grade 3, with EL students making greater academic gains across time points than never-EL students. Students who were reclassified after third grade and after fourth grade closed, or began to close, the academic opportunity gap by the end of fifth grade, providing promising evidence suggesting that reclassification policies are adequate for identifying those students who no longer need EL services. Students who continued to be classified as EL from third through fifth grades continued to score significantly lower than never-ELs, and in many cases other EL groups, indicating that there exists a group of EL students who continue to make inadequate reading and mathematics gains across late elementary school. Implications for policy and practices that support EL students' mathematics and reading growth are discussed.

这项研究比较了全州范围内三年级到五年级 33,715 名学生的数据集的阅读和数学增长轨迹。具体而言，我们检查了在不同年级被重新归类为不再需要英语语言服务的英语学习者 (EL) 与从未使用过英语的同龄人相比的增长情况。总体而言，EL 学生在 3 年级的阅读和数学评估方面的表现明显低于非 EL 学生，EL 学生在各个时间点上的学业进步比非 EL 学生更大。在三年级和四年级之后被重新分类的学生在五年级结束或开始缩小学术机会差距时，提供了有希望的证据，表明重新分类政策足以识别那些不再需要 EL 服务的学生。从三年级到五年级继续被归类为 EL 的学生的分数继续显着低于从未 EL 的学生，在许多情况下，其他 EL 组，这表明存在一组 EL 学生，他们的阅读和数学成绩继续不足小学迟到。讨论了支持 EL 学生数学和阅读增长的政策和实践的影响。