Editing Education in the United States (section)

===Immigrant students and grade placement===
The method of placing students in a specific grade based on birthday cut-off dates has often been used with immigrant children. A study conducted by Dylan Conger on the effects of grade placement on English learners found that schools are often rushed to make a decision on what grade an incoming student should be placed in, so they base their decision on the child's birthday.<ref name="Conger-2013">{{Cite journal|last=Conger|first=Dylan|date=December 2013|title=The Effect of Grade Placement on English Language Learners' Academic Achievement|journal=Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis|volume=35|issue=4|pages=395–412|doi=10.3102/0162373713493315|s2cid=146464010|issn=0162-3737}}</ref> Unfortunately, teachers and staff are not always able to test the child's knowledge to determine what grade level would be better for the students based on what they already know.<ref name="Conger-2013" /> This can cause some difficulties for immigrant students.

A study conducted on teacher expectations of Somali Bantu refugee students found that teachers can hold expectations for students to already know certain material when they enter their classroom, such as how to use a computer or how to behave in a classroom.<ref name="Tran-2017">{{Cite journal|last1=Tran|first1=Nellie|last2=Birman|first2=Dina|date=2017-12-24|title=Acculturation and Assimilation: A Qualitative Inquiry of Teacher Expectations for Somali Bantu Refugee Students|journal=Education and Urban Society|volume=51|issue=5|pages=712–736|doi=10.1177/0013124517747033|s2cid=149023286|issn=0013-1245}}</ref> When these students learned something that the teacher already expected them to know, it was not given the same importance compared to learning something that was being taught in that grade level, such as math proficiency or computer use.<ref name="Tran-2017" /> Things can become more difficult for students when entering in the middle of the academic year. A study focused on the impact of late arrivals for immigrant students found that, due to constant moving, students entering in the middle of the academic year encountered material they were not familiar with or ended up repeating material they had already learned.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Allard|first=Elaine C.|date=2016-10-24|title=Latecomers: The Sources and Impacts of Late Arrival Among Adolescent Immigrant Students|journal=Anthropology & Education Quarterly|volume=47|issue=4|pages=366–384|doi=10.1111/aeq.12166|issn=0161-7761}}</ref>

There is still limited research that has been conducted in the United States on the effects of placing immigrant students in a specific grade based on birthday cut-off dates. A study on [[Thailand]]'s education policy on children of migrants, where students under seven years were enrolled in kindergarten and older students in first grade, found that even though older students placed in first-grade classrooms were more obedient, the students had trouble connecting with their classmates, and teachers had to address them differently due to their age.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Arphattananon|first=Thithimadee|date=2012-06-11|title=Education that Leads to Nowhere: Thailand's Education Policy for Children of Migrants|journal=[[International Journal of Multicultural Education]]|volume=14|issue=1|doi=10.18251/ijme.v14i1.537|issn=1934-5267|doi-access=free}}</ref>

While data supports the theory that English-language (EL) literacy interventions are beneficial for students of all grade levels and socioeconomic status, including disadvantaged immigrant students, poor implementation of EL instruction has contributed to downward assimilation and long-term or permanent Limited English Proficiency (LEP) status for many immigrant youths.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Adesope|first1=Olusola O.|last2=Lavin|first2=Tracy|last3=Thompson|first3=Terri|last4=Ungerleider|first4=Charles|date=2011-01-06|title=Pedagogical strategies for teaching literacy to ESL immigrant students: A meta-analysis|journal=British Journal of Educational Psychology|volume=81|issue=4|pages=629–653|doi=10.1111/j.2044-8279.2010.02015.x|pmid=22050311|issn=0007-0998}}</ref> LEP status serves as a nonacademic factor for student course enrollment, negatively affecting immigrant student learning opportunities by separating English-learning from other coursework.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Callahan|first1=Rebecca|last2=Wilkinson|first2=Lindsey|last3=Muller|first3=Chandra|last4=Frisco|first4=Michelle|date=2008-02-05|title=ESL Placement and Schools|journal=Educational Policy|volume=23|issue=2|pages=355–384|doi=10.1177/0895904807310034|pmid=20617111|pmc=2898206|issn=0895-9048}}</ref> Focus on English literacy, and organizational constraints such as immigrant student population, may take away needed resources from challenging academic courses, such as math and science courses that are less English-dependent, thereby impeding LEP students' educational opportunities and post-secondary education preparation.