Non-College-Bound English Learners as the Underserved Third: How Students Graduate from High School Neither College- nor Career-Ready

Abstract

Not all high school students go to college. Yet, because there is currently such a dominant emphasis on “college for all,” preparing non-college-bound students for career-readiness has received short shrift. This issue is particularly important for English learners (ELs) because close to half of high school ELs do not advance to postsecondary education. Through a longitudinal ethnography of two underperforming, non-college-bound ELs, I examine how and why a relatively well-resourced school allowed these students to graduate without college- and career-readiness. I argue that although there were substantial structural inequalities that led to the under-education of the two ELs, educators at the school were largely unaware of such barriers and attributed the ELs’ underachievement to the students’ own deficits. I counter this institutional deficit orientation with alternative stories of student assets that illuminate the substantial strengths and talents that the focal ELs possessed, which, if recognized and integrated into their education, could have led to career-readiness.

Acknowledgements

The author would like to thank the educators and students at Brighton High School, who opened up their school and allowed me to roam around freely for three years. My colleagues Sara Kangas and Nick David read multiple iterations of this paper over the last two years. For their wisdom and patience, I am grateful.

Notes

1 In this study, I make a distinction between college and postsecondary education. By college, I mean attending either a community college or a four-year college with a goal of earning either an associate’s or bachelor’s degree. In contrast, I use postsecondary education to refer to much broader options, including trade schools and CTE programs within community colleges as well as academic programs at community colleges and four-year colleges.

2 All names of institutions and individuals are pseudonyms.

3 Of the remaining six participants, two went to four-year universities while four enrolled in a community college.

4 Because this was a longitudinal study, I chose to include the dates of the interview transcripts and observation notes from which excerpts were taken. Interview excerpts are marked as IN whereas field notes excerpts are marked as FN, followed by the date (month/date/year). Carlos and Eddie were juniors in 2010-2011 and seniors in 2011-2012, with Carlos repeating his senior year in 2012-2013.

5 Brighton’s core subject courses were offered at several different levels (from lowest to highest): remedial, regular, advanced, honors, and advanced placement (AP). The first adjective in each course title indicates the course level. Elective courses were not leveled.