Definition: Percentage of public school students identified as English Learners, a term used to describe students with a primary language other than English and who lack the defined English language skills of listening comprehension, speaking, reading, and writing necessary to succeed in a school's regular instructional programs.Number of public school students identified as English Learners, a term used to describe students with a primary language other than English and who lack the defined English language skills of listening comprehension, speaking, reading, and writing necessary to succeed in a school's regular instructional programs.

Footnote: Years presented are the final year of a school year (e.g., 2014-2015 is shown as 2015). LNE (Low Number Event) refers to data that have been suppressed because there were fewer than 20 English Learners. N/A means that data are not available.

Learn More About English Learners

Measures of English Learners on Kidsdata.org

Kidsdata.org offers the number and percentage of English Learners among public school students, the number and percentage of English Learners by status (i.e., English Learners-Spanish speaking, English Learners with a primary language other than Spanish, or not an English Learner), and the top 10 languages spoken most frequently by English Learners. English Learners are students who have a primary language other than English and who lack the clearly defined English skills of listening comprehension, speaking, reading, and writing necessary to succeed in a school's regular instructional programs.

Trends in English proficiency and primary languages spoken among children and families can be useful in projecting potential needs and planning appropriate services in health care, education, child care, and other settings. For example, quality health care requires effective communication between families and providers. Research shows that children in families with a primary language other than English experience disparities in health status, quality of health care services, and access to care, compared to children with English as a primary household language (1). Academically, children with limited English proficiency tend to have lower test scores than their native English-speaking peers. English Learners face the challenge of mastering content presented in the school curriculum at the same time they learn a new language (2, 3, 4). These circumstances create exceptional challenges for later educational attainment and socioeconomic success.

California’s public school system is charged with serving a diverse student body. In 2012-13, more than 2.6 million California students (43%) spoke a language other than English at home (3); this far exceeds the national estimate of 21% in 2012 (5). At least 60 different primary languages are reported among California students classified as English Learners (6). To ensure that children with limited English proficiency reach their maximum academic and health potential, it is critical for California’s education, health, social service, and community systems to be adequately prepared to meet the needs of the state’s increasingly diverse child and family population.

For more information on English Learners please see kidsdata.org’s Research & Links section.

2. Federal Interagency Forum on Child and Family Statistics. (2015). Language spoken at home and difficulty speaking English. In America’s children: Key national indicators of well-being, 2015. U.S. Government Printing Office. Retrieved from: http://www.childstats.gov/americaschildren/family5.asp

In 2015, 22% of all California public school students were classified as English Learners, which equates to nearly 1.4 million students with limited English proficiency. The percentage of English Learners remained around 25% between 1998-2008, but has declined slightly since then.

In 2015 and previous years, Spanish was by far the most common first language of students classified as English Learners, statewide and in virtually all counties with available data. Nearly one in five (19%) California public school students were Spanish-speaking English Learners in 2015; 4% were English Learners with a primary language other than Spanish. Following Spanish, the state’s second and third most popular languages were Vietnamese and Filipino.

Policy Implications

More than 1 in every 5 of California’s public school students— almost 1.4 million—have limited English proficiency (1). These children face a variety of educational challenges that policymakers and educators are working to address through targeted instruction, setting high expectations for academic achievement for all students, and improving dropout prevention policies. Currently, only about 63% of English Learners in the state’s public schools graduate from high school (2). Students who are learning English also often have parents with limited or no ability to speak English, which may result in barriers to accessing health care or other services that support academic achievement.

According to research and subject experts, policy options for addressing the challenges faced by children who are English Learners include:

Adopting practices with demonstrated effectiveness at the district and school level, such as: strategic use of academic assessment data; implementing a coherent, standards-based curriculum and program; using measurable and monitored achievement objectives; ensuring availability of teaching resources; securing district-level support for English Learners; using resource teachers for individualized programs; and using immersion techniques (such as Specially Designed Academic Instruction in English) to teach math to English Learners (3)

Setting school and district policies to incorporate formal and informal strategies to promote family and community engagement (4)

Ensuring that teacher candidates understand second language and literacy acquisition and how they inform effective instruction (5)

Improving access to publicly funded social services, including targeted outreach to non-English speakers for state child care subsidies; conducting public education on language access rights for medical patients and their families; and enforcing existing language access laws in health care settings (6, 7)