---
title: "6 facts about English language learners in U.S. public schools"
description: "English language learners in U.S. K-12 public schools are a diverse group from many different states and native language backgrounds. "
date: "2018-10-25"
authors:
  - name: "Kristen Bialik"
    job_title: "Former Research Assistant"
    link: "https://www.pewresearch.org/staff/kristen-bialik/"
  - name: "Alissa Scheller"
    job_title: "Senior Information Graphics Designer"
    link: "https://www.pewresearch.org/staff/alissa-scheller/"
  - name: "Kristi Walker"
    job_title: "Former Interactive Designer"
    link: "https://www.pewresearch.org/staff/kristi-walker/"
url: "https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2018/10/25/6-facts-about-english-language-learners-in-u-s-public-schools/"
categories:
  - "Education"
  - "Immigration & Language Adoption"
  - "Immigration & Migration"
  - "K-12"
---

# 6 facts about English language learners in U.S. public schools

[![Fewer Americans say they have spoken with a local journalist than in 2016, and the gap between whites and nonwhites persists](https://www.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2019/05/FT_19.05.10_LocalJournalists_FewerAmericanshavespokenwithlocaljournalist.png?w=300)](https://www.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2019/05/FT_19.05.10_LocalJournalists_FewerAmericanshavespokenwithlocaljournalist.png)

![](https://www.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/FT_18.10.02_ESLStudents_feature.jpg?w=640)
*Kindergarten students line up with their books at Gov. James B. Longley Elementary School in Lewiston, Maine. Over 70% of the school’s students are English language learners. (Brianna Soukup/Portland Press Herald via Getty Images)*

There were nearly 5 million English language learners in U.S. public schools in fall 2015, according to the most recent available data from the [National Center for Education Statistics](https://nces.ed.gov/programs/coe/indicator_cgf.asp). This represented 9.5% of U.S. public school enrollees, an increase from 8.1% in 2000.

English language learners (ELLs), a broad term that refers to students with limited English proficiency, are a diverse group from many different states and native language backgrounds. The educational experiences of ELLs also vary greatly across the country, as states and schools differ in how to [identify ELL students](http://ecs.force.com/mbdata/mbquestNB2?rep=ELL1403) and in [how to teach them](http://ecs.force.com/mbdata/mbquestNB2?rep=ELL1404). Regardless of [approach](https://ed.psu.edu/pds/elementary/intern-resources/esl-handbook/common-models), ELLs represent a growing part of the U.S. student body.

Here are six facts about English language learners in U.S. public schools.

![States in Southwest have largest shares of ELL students](https://www.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/FT_18.10.02_ESLStudents_map4.png?w=310)

**California has the highest number and share of English language learners.** The more than 1.3 million ELL students in California made up 21% of the state’s total public elementary and secondary school enrollment in 2015, around double the 9.5% nationwide share. English learners made up 10% or more of the student body in seven other states, many of them in the Southwest: Nevada (17%), Texas (17%), New Mexico (16%), Colorado (12%), Alaska (11%), Kansas (11%) and Washington (10%). States with the lowest percentages of English language students included Mississippi (2%), Vermont (2%) and West Virginia (1%).

**Spanish is the most common language spoken at home for ELL students, but not in all states.** Roughly three-quarters of students with limited English proficiency in U.S. public schools (77%) said they spoke Spanish as their primary language at home in 2015, making it by far the most commonly reported language, according to [the U.S. Department of Education](https://www2.ed.gov/admins/lead/account/consolidated/sy15-16part1/index.html). The remainder spoke a wide variety of languages, including Arabic, Chinese and Vietnamese (each spoken by around 2% of all English language learners).

*[Interactive Feature: english-language-learners]*

While these are among the most common languages spoken at home, ELL students in the U.S. speak more than [400 languages](https://www2.ed.gov/datastory/el-characteristics/index.html#three), many with large pockets in certain states. For example, Hmong is spoken by relatively large shares of ELL students in Minnesota (16%) and Wisconsin (15%).

**Cities are more likely than rural areas to have students who are English language learners.** These students made up 14% of total public school enrollees in city school districts in fall 2015, compared with just 4% in rural areas. Districts in suburban areas (9%) and towns (6%) fell in the middle. Districts located in an urban city with a population of 250,000 or more had the highest share of ELL students (16%).

![Most English language learners in the U.S. are in younger K-12 grades](https://www.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/FT_18.10.02_ESLStudentsbar3.png?w=310)

**Most English language learners are in elementary school grades.** In 2015, two-thirds of ELL students (67%) were in grades K-5, while just one-third (33%) were in grades 6-12. Looked at a different way, 16% of kindergartners were ELL students, compared with only 4% of 12th-graders. Many students are identified as English language learners when they enter elementary school but gain enough English language ability in upper grades to be [reclassified as proficient.](http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.3102/0162373712461849)

**A majority of public school districts in the U.S. have English learners in high school.** Although ELL students tend to be in elementary school, 62% of public school districts in 2015 had at least some high school English learners. Nationwide, the U.S. had nearly 800,000 high school ELL students, according to a separate NCES survey on [programs and services for high school English learners](https://nces.ed.gov/pubs2016/2016150.pdf). Although most districts have high school English learners, many districts only have a few ELL students in high school: Half had 10 or fewer English learner students, while half had 11 or more.

**Most U.S. public school students with limited English proficiency are U.S. citizens**, according to estimates from the Census Bureau’s [2016 American Community Survey](https://usa.ipums.org/usa/). Among public school students ages 5 to 17 who report speaking English “less than very well,” 72% were born in the United States, compared with 28% who were foreign born.

Yet the latter group also includes students born abroad to American parents and naturalized citizens. Only 23% of limited English proficiency students ages 5 to 17 are not U.S. citizens. Older public school students are more likely to be noncitizens. Around a third (32%) of limited English proficiency students in grades 6-12 are noncitizens, compared with 17% of students in grades K-5.