Language Status and English II End-of-Course Exam Performance of Girls: A Texas Multiyear Analysis

Abstract

In this article, we compared the reading college readiness of Emergent Bilingual girls to the reading college readiness of non-Emergent Bilingual girls. To do so, we analyzed two years (i.e., 2017-2018, 2018-2019) of Texas statewide data on the state-mandated English II End-of-Course exam. On the three measures of reading college readiness (i.e., Approaches Grade Level, Meets Grade Level, and Masters Grade Level), statistically significantly lower percentages of Emergent Bilingual girls met the passing standards on these measures than did non-Emergent Bilingual girls. Of note were the extremely low percentages of Emergent Bilingual girls who passed the standard for the Meets Grade Level and the Masters Grade Level measures. Such low performance would preclude success at the postsecondary level.