Partial-immersion students keep pace with peers in
Lexington One
Parents occasionally ask how the academic achievement of students who participate in partial-immersion programs compares to the academic achievement of students in the same grade who do not participate in partial-immersion programs.
In an effort to find out, Dr. Shane Phillips in Lexington One’s Office of Assessment and Accountability conducted a study. The study compared the achievement of students in the district’s partial-immersion program to the achievement of similar students who were not by employing a sophisticated statistical technique called “propensity-score matching.” He matched groups of students who had been in the partial-immersion program with groups of students who had not but were similar to them on multiple demographic and academic characteristics including the students’ fall scores from the nationally standardized Measures of Academic Progress (MAP) assessment. The study compared spring scores of the two groups by school for both the 2010–2011 and 2011–2012 school years.
Overall, the results showed that, students in partial immersion tend to perform as well as comparable students who are not in the program. Results for third- and fourth-grade immersion students, who had been in the program for four and five years, showed slightly lower scores on the spring 2011 MAP mathematics test, on average, than similar non-immersion students in the 2010–2011 school year study. These differences disappeared, however, by spring 2012.
Results for second- and third-grade partial-immersion students in the 2011–2012 school year study showed students
scoring slightly better in reading than similar non-immersion students on the spring 2012 MAP reading test than comparable non-immersion students.
In all cases in both school year studies, the differences between the groups were small and are most likely normal variations in group scores. In other words, the reading and mathematics achievement of students in the partial-immersion program is very similar to the achievement of comparable students who were not in the partial-immersion program. Yet, the students in the partial-immersion program also gained proficiency in another
world language.
The results of this study represent the program as a whole. If a parent has a question about the individual performance of his or her child, that parent can use that child’s individual MAP student report to compare that child’s individual performance and progress with students in Lexington One and students across the nation. MAP provides nationally-norm referenced scores for reading and mathematics on the fall and spring individual student reports as well as graphs of that student’s performance in each subject over time.
Parents who have questions about interpreting MAP reports can contact either the school’s guidance counselors or
school test coordinator.
In an effort to find out, Dr. Shane Phillips in Lexington One’s Office of Assessment and Accountability conducted a study. The study compared the achievement of students in the district’s partial-immersion program to the achievement of similar students who were not by employing a sophisticated statistical technique called “propensity-score matching.” He matched groups of students who had been in the partial-immersion program with groups of students who had not but were similar to them on multiple demographic and academic characteristics including the students’ fall scores from the nationally standardized Measures of Academic Progress (MAP) assessment. The study compared spring scores of the two groups by school for both the 2010–2011 and 2011–2012 school years.
Overall, the results showed that, students in partial immersion tend to perform as well as comparable students who are not in the program. Results for third- and fourth-grade immersion students, who had been in the program for four and five years, showed slightly lower scores on the spring 2011 MAP mathematics test, on average, than similar non-immersion students in the 2010–2011 school year study. These differences disappeared, however, by spring 2012.
Results for second- and third-grade partial-immersion students in the 2011–2012 school year study showed students
scoring slightly better in reading than similar non-immersion students on the spring 2012 MAP reading test than comparable non-immersion students.
In all cases in both school year studies, the differences between the groups were small and are most likely normal variations in group scores. In other words, the reading and mathematics achievement of students in the partial-immersion program is very similar to the achievement of comparable students who were not in the partial-immersion program. Yet, the students in the partial-immersion program also gained proficiency in another
world language.
The results of this study represent the program as a whole. If a parent has a question about the individual performance of his or her child, that parent can use that child’s individual MAP student report to compare that child’s individual performance and progress with students in Lexington One and students across the nation. MAP provides nationally-norm referenced scores for reading and mathematics on the fall and spring individual student reports as well as graphs of that student’s performance in each subject over time.
Parents who have questions about interpreting MAP reports can contact either the school’s guidance counselors or
school test coordinator.
