37% of Hispanic ESOL Students Graduate in 4 years

Montgomery's ESOL students making progress | Washington Examiner

...Helen Wang and Shahpar Modarresi, the report's authors and researchers for MCPS, recommended officials "provide more intensive English language instructional services to ESOL students in Grade 9, given that this grade level was least likely to meet the [testing] targets among all secondary grade levels."

...Among Montgomery County Public Schools students, 13 percent qualify for ESOL services, a number that has been rising as the county's population has become significantly more diverse. The majority of ESOL students speak Spanish as a first language.

The ESOL population has been a high priority for MCPS, as the students can come with challenges. Students with limited English proficiency are more likely to be chronically absent, missing 20 or more days of school, and to qualify for free or reduced lunch, the school system's indicator of poverty.

However, the gap is starkest when it comes to graduation rates. Systemwide, 86 percent of MCPS students graduate within four years, but that's the case for only 37 percent of Hispanic students with limited English proficiency. Given five years, still just 48 percent of these students throw their caps in the air.