California's English Learners 2004-05
March 2006

In 2004-05, 25.2% of California’s students were learning English, while an additional 16.8% had mastered English though it was not their first language. The primary languages spoken by English learners in California public schools and the percentage of English learners who speak each language are shown in this graph, adapted from data in EdSource’s 2006 Resource Cards. The “Others” category includes more than 50 languages.

English learners are students whose primary language—as reported by their parents—is not English and whose performance on the California English Language Development Test (CELDT) indicates they do not yet possess the skills necessary to succeed in a school’s regular instructional program. Students take the CELDT upon initial enrollment and annually thereafter until it is determined that they have mastered English. At that point, they are reclassified fluent English proficient (FEP).