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This report describes enrollment and achievement trends of LEP students in New Jersey public schools between 2002/03 and 2008/09. It documents achievement gaps between LEP and general education students in language arts literacy and math, as measured by statewide assessments administered in grades 3, 4, 8, and 11. The study's main findings include:
* LEP students in New Jersey spoke 187 languages in 2008/09, up from 151 in 2002/03. In 2008/09, Spanish (spoken by 66.8 percent of LEP students in the state) had the most speakers, followed by Arabic (2.6 percent), Korean (2.5 percent), and Portuguese (2.0 percent).
* The achievement of LEP students increased in both language arts literacy and mathematics in elementary, middle, and high school. As a result, the achievement gap between LEP students and general education students in grades 3 and 4 narrowed in both language arts literacy and math, and the achievement gap in grades 8 and 11 narrowed in language arts literacy but widened in math.
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