Sorted and Tracked: English Learners, College-Level Course-Taking in High School, and Postsecondary Opportunity

Drawing from frameworks of categorical inequality and leveled tracking, this study examines how English learners (EL) status serves as a label that limits students’ access to college-level course-taking in high school and subsequent postsecondary opportunities. We find that EL–never-EL gaps in postsecondary outcomes vary by the timing of reclassification but are largely explained by student and school factors. We also show that ELs reclassified in later grades take fewer college-level courses than both never-EL students and ELs reclassified earlier. Nonlinear variance decomposition analyses reveal that a substantial portion of these outcome gaps is attributable to differences in college-level course-taking. We conclude by sharing insights from district staff to help schools support EL students in completing college-level coursework and expanding their postsecondary opportunities.