DISCLAIMER

This paper reports the results of research and analysis undertaken by Census Bureau Staff. It has undergone a more limited review than official Census Bureau publications. This report is released to inform interested parties of research and to encourage discussion.

In recent years, large increases in immigration to the United States have contributed to a dramatic rise in the number of “language minority” students. This trend has posed challenges for some school districts where resources for teaching English as a second language are scarce. It has also fueled controversies over school funding and pedagogy in parts of the country. Additionally, concerns have been raised over the English-language skill of children from families who speak languages other than English as they mature to adulthood and become citizens.

Language use and English ability are important factors in the changing composition of the U.S. population. Previous analyses (Carliner, 1999) indicate that English fluency among new immigrants has steadily decreased since the 1950s. Yet little hard evidence on the extent of non-English language use in the United States has been available since the 1990 Census (for a discussion of 1990 census results, see Bruno 1993). This analysis uses data from the Census 2000 Supplementary Survey (C2SS) -- the year 2000 test of the American Community Survey -- to examine how language use and English ability of school-aged children has changed since 1990.