Understanding STEM Coursetaking Among English Learner Subgroups: Longitudinal Evidence From Four State Policy Contexts

Abstract Although a substantial body of research documents the problem of course tracking for students classified as English learners (ELs), very little work has addressed the notably different challenges that subgroups of ELs face across different state policy contexts. This descriptive study uses a cross‐state, comparative framework to explore how graduation and reclassification policies in New York City, Oregon, Texas, and Michigan relate to ELs' access to college‐preparatory math and science coursework. The work grows out of 5 years of collaboration between two IES‐funded research and development centers and highlights both the challenges and opportunities of cross‐jurisdictional comparative research. We found that all subgroups of ELs had lower enrollment in Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate STEM coursework in comparison with their never EL peers and former ELs (i.e., students who reclassified prior to Grade 9). With respect to coursetaking in traditionally college‐preparatory topics —Algebra II and beyond, physics, and chemistry—enrollment for current ELs varied both by subgroup and study location. New arrivals as of Grade 9 had consistently low enrollment rates in college‐preparatory STEM topics, related in part to high levels of dropout in this subgroup. By contrast, the experiences of long‐term ELs varied widely between states, in part because their academic profiles were notably different in Michigan and Texas in comparison with NYC and Oregon. Our findings point to potentially valuable areas for further policy research on EL coursetaking. They also highlight a fundamental tension in cross‐state descriptive work when differences in reclassification policies appear to shape the composition of EL subgroups in widely divergent ways.