The social stigma and low expectations tied to English-language-learner status often means that middle- and high school-age English-learners are linguistically and academically isolated with less access to a school’s full curriculum and English-speaking peers, says Peggy Estrada, an associate research scientist in the Latin American and Latino Studies department at the University of California, Santa Cruz.
Estrada argues that establishing standards for identifying and exiting students from English-learner status would help address the issue.
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