This report, authored by Wayne P. Thomas and Virginia Collier, provides a comprehensive overview of the long-term effects of instructional strategies on language minority students in five large school systems across the United States from 1982 to 1996. The study aims to address the urgent needs of decision-makers by offering practical, data-based recommendations for improving educational outcomes for these students. Key findings include: 1. **Urgent Needs**: The field of bilingual/ESL education has faced political challenges and short-term evaluations that have not provided useful decision-making information. The study emphasizes the need for long-term, longitudinal research to inform school policies. 2. **Long-Term Picture**: Short-term evaluations (1-4 years) are insufficient for accurately assessing long-term student achievement. Data over a 10-12 year period is crucial to understand the cumulative effects of instructional programs. 3. **Key Findings**: - **Cognitively Complex Instruction**: Long-term success is linked to complex, grade-level academic instruction in both the first and second languages. - **Current Teaching Methods**: Interactive, discovery learning and cooperative learning strategies are more effective than traditional methods. - **Transformed Sociocultural Context**: Creating a supportive bilingual context similar to that for monolingual native-English speakers is essential. 4. **Research Methodology**: - **Limitations of Short-Term Evaluations**: Short-term studies often lack longitudinal data and fail to account for student mobility and program implementation variations. - **Common Misconceptions**: Misconceptions about "scientific" research, such as inappropriate use of random assignment and focus on internal validity, hinder the effectiveness of research in informing educational practices. 5. **Policy Recommendations**: - Emphasize long-term, longitudinal studies with effect size measures. - Define school success for language minority students based on long-term parity with native-English speakers. - Use student achievement in all areas of the curriculum as the primary outcome measure. - Implement well-implemented bilingual programs to ensure cognitive and academic development. 6. **Action Recommendations**: - Conduct local investigations to assess the long-term effects of existing programs. - Reform instructional strategies to meet the needs of language minority students. - Develop and implement new instructional approaches to improve long-term academic achievement. The report concludes with a call to action for researchers and school districts to address these urgent educational issues and improve the educational outcomes of language minority students.This report, authored by Wayne P. Thomas and Virginia Collier, provides a comprehensive overview of the long-term effects of instructional strategies on language minority students in five large school systems across the United States from 1982 to 1996. The study aims to address the urgent needs of decision-makers by offering practical, data-based recommendations for improving educational outcomes for these students. Key findings include: 1. **Urgent Needs**: The field of bilingual/ESL education has faced political challenges and short-term evaluations that have not provided useful decision-making information. The study emphasizes the need for long-term, longitudinal research to inform school policies. 2. **Long-Term Picture**: Short-term evaluations (1-4 years) are insufficient for accurately assessing long-term student achievement. Data over a 10-12 year period is crucial to understand the cumulative effects of instructional programs. 3. **Key Findings**: - **Cognitively Complex Instruction**: Long-term success is linked to complex, grade-level academic instruction in both the first and second languages. - **Current Teaching Methods**: Interactive, discovery learning and cooperative learning strategies are more effective than traditional methods. - **Transformed Sociocultural Context**: Creating a supportive bilingual context similar to that for monolingual native-English speakers is essential. 4. **Research Methodology**: - **Limitations of Short-Term Evaluations**: Short-term studies often lack longitudinal data and fail to account for student mobility and program implementation variations. - **Common Misconceptions**: Misconceptions about "scientific" research, such as inappropriate use of random assignment and focus on internal validity, hinder the effectiveness of research in informing educational practices. 5. **Policy Recommendations**: - Emphasize long-term, longitudinal studies with effect size measures. - Define school success for language minority students based on long-term parity with native-English speakers. - Use student achievement in all areas of the curriculum as the primary outcome measure. - Implement well-implemented bilingual programs to ensure cognitive and academic development. 6. **Action Recommendations**: - Conduct local investigations to assess the long-term effects of existing programs. - Reform instructional strategies to meet the needs of language minority students. - Develop and implement new instructional approaches to improve long-term academic achievement. The report concludes with a call to action for researchers and school districts to address these urgent educational issues and improve the educational outcomes of language minority students.