Opportunity Gap at the Intersection of Language, Disability, and Science

ABSTRACT In response to the limited research on English learners (ELs) with disabilities, we conducted a series of studies focused on their academic achievement across core content areas. This study reports on science achievement of ELs using longitudinal National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) data from 2009 to 2019, in Grades 4 and 8. Comparing patterns in student performance across grades is particularly important in science, where conceptual understandings build on each other over time with an increasing level of complexity. NAEP science was administered to 4th graders in 2009, 2015, and 2019 ( N = 159,980, 117,300, and 30,990, respectively); and to 8th graders in 2009, 2011, 2015, and 2019 ( N = 154,660, 124,170, 112,740, and 31,960, respectively). Persistent lower science performance is noticed over the past decade in ELs and students with disabilities, with ELs with disabilities being the most academically vulnerable student group across years and grade levels. Both EL and student with disabilities statuses explained 15%–20% of the variance in student science performance, with increasing impacts over the past decade. Controlling for socioeconomic status, the percent of variance explained increased to 26‐29%. School location accounted for 16%–20% of the variance in student performance, with increasing impacts over the past decade. Findings have implications for expanding access to grade‐level science curriculum and linguistically‐responsive science instruction and call for closing the opportunity gap for ELs with disabilities, beginning with teacher education programs promoting shared responsibility of all students.