Dual Language Education and Student Achievement

Dual language classrooms provide English Language Learners (ELLs) an opportunity to receive instruction in their native language as they transition to English ?uency. This might allow ELLs to build a stronger foundation in core subjects and lead to better academic outcomes. Dual language education has also grown substantially in popularity among English speaking families across the U.S., as it presents an option to learn content in, and presumably become ?uent in, a second language. Despite the spike in practice, there is little causal evidence on what e?ect attending a dual language school has on student achievement. I examine dual language education and student achievement using school choice lotteries from Charlotte-Mecklenburg School District, ?nding local average treatment e?ects on math and reading exam scores of more than 0.06 standard deviations per year for participants who were eligible for English second language (ESL) services or designated limited English pro?cient (LEP). There is also some evidence that attending a dual language school led to a lower probability of having limited English pro?cient status starting in third grade. For applicants who were not eligible for ESL services or designated as LEP, attending a dual language school has resulted in higher end of grade exam scores of about 0.09 and 0.05 standard deviations per year in math and reading, respectively.