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IMPACT BY THE NUMBERS
10.2%
ELLs in the US
This number represents the percentage of public school students in the United States who were ELLs was higher in fall 2018 (10.2 percent, or 5.0 million students) than in fall 2010 (9.2 percent, or 4.5 million students).
29%
Caifornia has the biggest ELs population
The state with the most ELL students is California — which has 29 percent of all ELLs nationwide. Texas has 18 percent, followed by Florida with 5 percent and New York with 4 percent. From 2000 to 2014, the growth of the ELL population was greatest in Arkansas, Kentucky, Tennessee, North Carolina, and South Carolina.
25%
ELs population projection for 2025
ELs are the fastest-growing student population group, according to the National Education Association. By 2025, an estimated 25 percent of public school students will be ELLs.
75.2%
ELs speaks Spanish as L1
Spanish was the home language of 3.8 million ELL public school students in fall 2018, representing 75.2 percent of all ELL students and 7.7 percent of all public K–12 students.
3.8 years
Average years to transition
The average time ELs spent in classrooms to reach proficiency is 3.8 years (more than 1520 days). This time could be drastically decreased to 1 year and 10 academic months (300 days).
85%
ELs Pre-K to 5th is born in the US
The majority of ELs are actually native to the United States. In fact, 85% of pre-kindergarten to fifth grade and 62% of 6th to 12th grade ELs are native-born citizens of the United States (Zong & Batalova, 2015).
DECODING THE NUMBERS
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Spanish was the home language of 3.8 million ELL public school students in fall 2018, representing 75.2 percent of all ELL students and 7.7 percent of all public K–12 students. Arabic and Chinese were the next most commonly reported home languages (spoken by 135,900 and 102,800 students, respectively). English was the fourth most common home language for ELL students (99,500 students), reflecting students who live in multilingual households or students adopted from other countries who were raised speaking another language but currently live in households where English is spoken. Vietnamese (76,500 students), Somali (40,100 students), Russian (38,200 students), Portuguese (37,500 students), Haitian (32,800 students), and Hmong (31,300 students) were the next most commonly reported home languages of ELL students in fall 2018. The 30 most commonly reported home languages also include several whose prevalence has changed greatly between the school year 2009–10 and fall 2018. For example, the number of ELLs who reported that their home language was Telugu, a Karen language, five or Swahili more than tripled between the school year 2009–10 and fall 2018 (from 3,900 to 13,000 for students who reported that Telugu was their home language, from 4,500 to 13,500 for students who reported that a Karen language was their home language, and from 4,400 to 18,400 for students who reported that Swahili was their home language).6
In fall 2018, there were about 3.8 million Hispanic ELL public school students, constituting over three-quarters (77.6 percent) of ELL student enrollment overall.7 Asian students were the next most significant racial/ethnic group among ELLs, with 528,700 students (10.7 percent of ELL students). In addition, there were 331,900 White ELL students (6.7 percent of ELL students) and 218,000 Black ELL students (4.4 percent of ELL students). In each of the other racial/ethnic groups for which data were collected (Pacific Islanders, American Indians/Alaska Natives, and individuals of Two or more races), fewer than 40,000 students were identified as ELLs. In addition, 766,600 ELL students were identified as students with disabilities in fall 2018, representing 15.3 percent of the total ELL student enrollment.
TENNESSEE NUMBERS
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According to data collected from Census in 2019, Tennessee has 5.7% of Hispanic or Latino Origin Population; 2% are Asian and 0.5% American Indian and Alaska Native. Tennessee has 6,829,174 inhabitants. In absolute numbers, this percentage represents respectively to 389,262 Hispanic or Latino Origin Population; 136,583.48 Asian, and 34,145.87 American Indian and Alaska Native. Summing only these three races, it comes to 559,992.268 people that identify with other cultures other than American culture as their own. Census also calculates that in Tennessee, there is a 7,1% of the population that has Language Other than English Spoken at Home, percentage of persons age 5years +, 2014-2018.
In 2015, data from the Metropolitan Nashville Public Schools (appendix 2) showed that about a third of the district's 85,000 student population does not speak English as a first language. According to the district's statistics, 120 different languages are spoken in Metro schools, with the most popular being Spanish, Arabic, Kurdish, Somali, Vietnamese, Burmese, Napali, Amharic, Chinese, and Karen. Spanish-speaking students are the largest group with 16,896 students, while Arabic and Kurdish round out the top three at 3,435 and 1,181, respectively. Data shows that the number of Metro students requiring special services to learn English has risen, from 8,751 in the 2011-12 school year to 12,329 in 2015-16. Of those 25,300 students, more than 12,300 require special services, primarily in elementary schools.
According to The Diverse Learners Cooperative, a nonprofit organization that connects teachers and leaders with professional learning, resources, and networks that leverage best practices for diverse learners and increase teacher retention, under the section called "Call to Action: Why this Work Matters," 87% of total Tennessee students graduate from High School, however, only 73% of English Learners in the same State graduate from High School. While 34.5% of students in Tennessee were proficient or advanced on the 3-8 ELA TN Ready test, only 17.2% of English Learners achieved the proficiency. When the data is narrowed down to Davidson County only (Nashville-TN), 21% are English Learners.