¿Qué Pasa?
Are ELL Students Remaining in
English Learning Classes
Too Long?
A Tomás Rivera Policy Institute Full Report
The Tomás Rivera Policy Institute (TRPI) advances informed policy
on key issues affecting Latino communities through objective and
timely research contributing to the betterment of the nation.
The Tomás Rivera Policy Institute
University of Southern California
School of Policy, Planning and Development
650 Childs Way, Lewis Hall, Suite 102
Los Angeles, California 90089-0626
Tel: 213-821-5615 • Fax: 213-821-1976
www.trpi.org
With offices at:
Columbia University, New York, New York
© 2009 The Tomás Rivera Policy Institute
Unauthorized duplication of this report is a violation of copyright.
November 2009
The Tomás Rivera Policy Institute asserts a neutral position regarding public policy issues.
Interpretations and conclusions presented in TRPI publications are those of the authors
and should not be attributed to the Institute, its trustees, officers or other staff members,
or to the organizations which support its research.
TRPI is an independent, nonprofit organization that is an affiliated research unit of the
School of Policy, Planning, and Development at the University of Southern California.
Qué Pasa?
Are ELL Students Remaining in
English Learning Classes
Too Long?
Authors:
Edward Flores,
USC Department of Sociology PhD Candidate
Gary Painter, PhD
USC School of Policy, Planning, and Development Professor
Harry Pachon, PhD
Tomás Rivera Policy Institute President & CEO
USC School of Policy, Planning, and Development Professor
Acknowledgments
This report was made possible by financial support by the U.S. Department of
Education and the California Community Foundation.
We also gratefully acknowledge the Latino Scorecard Education Action Team
(LSEAT) for obtaining the data upon which this research was based. We thank Dr.
Maria-Estela Zarate for her participation in the early planning stages of this research
project, Zachary Harlow-Nash for his contribution to some of the tables in