Browsing by Author "Turley, Ruth N.L."

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    Learning More than Language: An Examination of Student Achievement in English Immersion and Bilingual Programs
    (2015-04-23) Alvear, Sandra Anna; Turley, Ruth N.L.; Bratter, Jenifer; Chavez, Sergio
    Quantitative education research has yet to assemble a cohesive perspective on the impact of bilingual programs on Spanish-speaking students’ achievement. The current study offers a nearly unprecedented methodological advancement in bilingual education research through a comprehensive, comparative analysis of reading achievement across four major language acquisition programs in U.S. schools—transitional, one-way developmental, two-way bilingual immersion, and English immersion. Furthermore, the study contextualizes these programs and their outcomes within segmented assimilation theory, theoretically linking each program to a specific form of acculturation. Using a longitudinal dataset from a large urban school district in Texas, I employed multilevel models to examine reading outcomes in elementary school. Results indicate that transitional and two-way students have comparable reading outcomes in Spanish and English. Across grade levels, one-way students demonstrate lower Spanish reading growth than transitional students. The English reading analysis shows that program exposure beyond four years is linked to significantly lower reading performance across all students, and among English immersion students in particular. These results indicate that transitional programs—although associated with consonant acculturation’s limited bilingual foundation—lead to similar, and in some cases higher, reading outcomes compared to fully additive bilingual programs such as one-way or two-way.
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    Teacher-Student Congruence and Student Achievement in Segregated Schools
    (2015-10-30) Chukhray, Irina; Turley, Ruth N.L.; Bratter, Jenifer L.; Cech, Erin
    Students’ academic achievement is crucial to life opportunities and chances, yet minorities continue to underperform compared to whites in reading and math. One mechanism that makes a difference in student success is teachers, and especially teacher-student relationships. Since research emphasizes that feelings of social belonging positively influence student achievement, some suggest that good teacher-student relationships, potentially cultivated by sharing race (race congruence), may improve students’ achievement. This study uses data on a census of elementary and middle school students (white, Black, and Hispanic) in a large urban school district in Texas from 2009-10 through 2010-11 to investigate the potential benefits of race congruence between teachers and students on a standardized math and reading assessment. This study contributes by focusing on a heavily segregated school district. Using regression modeling to isolate the effects of congruence independent of other student and teacher characteristics, I examine race differences in any effects of congruence. The results indicate little evidence for race congruence benefiting students except for one situation: black students in reading, which may be driven by school racial composition.