California’s Test Scores Show ‘English Only’ Approach Effective



By Jim Brown

An English-only ballot measure passed five years ago in California continues to prove its effectiveness.

Back in 1998, California voters overwhelmingly approved Proposition 227, effectively ending bilingual education programs in the state. Now, according to results from the 2002 California English Language Development Test, the number of public school students who speak English “proficiently” has nearly tripled.

Ron Unz of the English for the Children campaign was the author of Proposition 227. He says since the passage of the English-only measure, Hispanic students have made substantial academic improvements in the classroom.

“The test scores of over a million immigrant students in the State of California have actually doubled,” Unz states. “And it seems to me that anything that doubles the academic test scores of more than a million students in just three or four years is probably a very successful approach.”

Unz says teaching young children English when they first enter school is the best way of allowing them to learn English and do well in their other academic subjects. He says it is evident many politicians have not caught that vision.

“It's just a sign of the incredible cowardice of our Republicans and conservatives in Washington that they refuse to take any measures along those lines,” he says. “In fact, Congress recently quadrupled the federal budget for bilingual education, which really is ridiculous.”

Unz believes politicians seeking to gain more immigrant votes fail to recognize the majority of Hispanics dislike bilingual education programs. He adds it is unfortunate that there is no ballot measure initiative process in states that need English-only classrooms the most &#0151 like Texas, New Jersey, and New York.

(This article courtesy of Agape Press.)

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