The number of students in Arkansas learning English as a second language has nearly doubled in the past nine years, legislators learned Tuesday.
Despite the influx, those students -- most of whom speak Spanish as a first language -- are earning better scores than their peers in most southeastern states on a national standardized test.
"It seems like, especially in literacy ... we actually are more successful than the U.S. average in closing the gap," said Rep. Mark Lowery, R-Maumelle, at a legislative committee on education meeting Tuesday. "And that closed gap continues through eighth-grade literacy."
Arkansas English language learners ranked No. 3 in fourth-grade literacy and No. 1 in eighth-grade literacy compared with 14 other southeastern states on the National Assessment of Educational Progress standardized test in 2013.
In math, they ranked No. 1 in fourth grade and No. 2 in eighth grade on the same test.
Mandy Gillip, a legislative analyst with the Bureau of Legislative Research, told lawmakers there isn't a state-mandated program of study for the students.
"Really, the way an [English language learners] program is going to look in a district or individual school is going to depend on the density of the population," she said. "It's certainly not a one size fits all coming from the state."
The increase in English language learners -- from 20,173 in the 2005-06 school year to 37,330 in the 2014-15 school year -- correlates with the growth of the Spanish-speaking population in Arkansas, from 3.2 percent of the total population in 2000 to 7 percent in 2015, Gillip said.
Throughout the state, 86 percent of English learners speak Spanish, she said. More than half of English learners are concentrated in Springdale, Rogers, Fort Smith and Little Rock.
Other than Spanish, 6.2 percent of English language learners come to school speaking Marshallese, 1.3 percent speak Vietnamese and 1 percent Laotian.
Gillip said the state spends $317 per student in English language learner funding, but districts, which can transfer money from professional development, National School Lunch and Alternative Learning Environment funds, spend $425 per student in state funds.
Sen. Uvalde Lindsey, D-Fayetteville, asked if that meant the state is underfunding English learning.
"When you consider what's moved over ... it's enough to cover it," Gillip said. "While we are spending about 134 percent of our total [English language learner] funding, we are still able to carry over a balance at the end of the year."
In the 2014-15 school year, the state spent about $16 million on English learners.
Metro on 10/07/2015