Goal 3: DCCCD students will acquire basic literacy skills and developmental education to live more functionally and become ready to participate successfully in college-level curricula.

This report details the English as a Second Language (ESL) component of goal 3. The following District-wide indicators are reported:

-- enrollment trends in ESL courses,

-- course performance in credit ESL courses, and

-- unduplicated counts of ESL students.

Continuing education ESL courses range from Limited English Proficiency (LEP) instruction to courses which teach LEP students language skills needed for the work place. The credit curriculum is designed to develop pre-academic language proficiency and to interface with other ESL programs, developmental studies or college level programs.

Findings

Continuing Education ESL

• Three-fourths of 1997-98 ESL enrollments were in continuing education courses.
• Enrollments increased 114% from 1993-94 to 1996-97 and then declined 11% the following year.
• Approximately 12,586 students enrolled in continuing education ESL courses during 1997-98.

• Growth in credit ESL enrollments occurred during each of the previous 5-years resulting in a 48% increase from 1993-94 to 1997-98.
• Seventy-six percent of the grades awarded were A, B or C and 9% were grades indicating the student withdrew from the course.
• Approximately 2,815 students enrolled in at least one credit ESL course last year.

Intensive English programs initiated Fall 1998 and excluded from this summary, include those offered at the American Language and Culture Institute (at the Universities Center at Dallas) and Brookhaven’s newly named Multicultural Center. Next year’s summary will include these new programs.

As noted, after several years of growth, a decline was experienced in continuing education ESL instruction in 1997-98. Dallas Public Schools (DPS) subcontracted with the DCCCD from 1994-95 through 1996-97 to provide ESL-adult basic education. In 1997-98, DPS chose to offer this instruction themselves rather than funding another provider. Although a decrease occurred in District continuing education ESL, such enrollments continue to exceed levels prior to the DPS contract.

Overall, almost 15,000 individuals enrolled in either a continuing education or credit ESL course in 1997-98. This represents almost 7% of the county adult population that speaks a language either other than or in addition to English.

 Enrollments reflect the total number of courses in which students are enrolled.
 

ESL in 1997-98	BHC	CVC	EFC	ECC	MVC	NLC	RLC	District
Cont Ed Students	2,091	296	512	2,645	1,599	2,285	3,158	12,586
Cont Ed Enrollments	3,961	653	860	6,248	2,932	5,614	7,179	27,447
Credit Students	848	n.a.1	240	194	162	112	1,259	2,815
Credit Enrollments	2,742	n.a.	521	591	426	310	4,465	9,055
Total ESL Students2	2,939	296	752	2,839	1,761	2,397	4,417	15,401

 

96-97 to 97-98 % Change	BHC	CVC	EFC	ECC	MVC	NLC	RLC
Cont Ed Enrollments	-17%	-59%	-33%	-8%	+1%	-7%	-4%
Credit Enrollments	-2%	n.a.	-15%	+68%	+2%	+8%	+59%

^{1 Not Applicable - all ESL is taught through continuing education courses.
2 This is a duplicated count since students in both continuing education and credit courses are counted twice. The total unduplicated count of 1997-98 ESL students is 14,958 and does not include those who received ESL instruction through contract training but were not registered as credit or continuing education students.
Data Source: Student Master and CE-Students Files, continuing education data reflect quarters I through IV and credit data include fall through summer semesters}

Prepared by District Office of Research, March 1999

1998-99 Board Indicator Reports