Bilingual Debate: English Immersion

Lance Izumi & Bruce Fuller:

In this installment of Education Watch, Bruce Fuller and Lance T. Izumi discuss the candidates' positions on bilingual education. Go to Mr. Fuller's post.

Lance T. Izumi, a senior fellow in California studies and the senior director of education studies at the Pacific Research Institute for Public Policy, is the co-author of the book "Not as Good as You Think: Why the Middle Class Needs School Choice." (Full biography.)

Making effective appeals to Hispanic voters is a tricky business. Barack Obama's education proposals are a case in point.

Mr. Obama's campaign notes that, "African-American and Latino students are significantly less likely to graduate than white students," which is true. To combat such achievement gaps, Mr. Obama's education plan specifically advocates, among other things, "transitional bilingual education" for English-learners. Yet, the question for Mr. Obama is whether his commitment to bilingual education, which emphasizes classroom instruction in languages other than English, overrides his interest in closing achievement gaps.

Posted by Jim Zellmer at September 29, 2008 1:44 PM
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