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Visible Learning™
Visible Learning MetaX™
Version 1.4 – Updated February 2026

Bilingual programs

Overview

  • Influence: Bilingual programs
  • Domain: Curricula
  • Sub-Domain: Other curricula programs
  • Potential to Accelerate Student Achievement: Likely to have positive impact
  • Influence Definition: Contrasted with "language submersion" programs, bilingual programs include a language-minority student's home language in school instruction.

Evidence

  • Number of meta-analyses: 12
  • Number of studies: 510
  • Number of students: 24,984
  • Number of effects: 1,547
  • Weighted mean effect size: 0.40
  • Robustness index: 4

Meta-Analyses

Meta-Analyses
Journal Title Author Article Name Year Published Variable Number of Studies Number of Students Number of Effects Effect Size
Dissertation Powers & Rossman Evidence of the impact of bilingual education: a meta-analysis 1983 Bilingual programs 16 1,257 16 0.12
Review of Educational Research Willig A Meta-Analysis of Selected Studies on the Effectiveness of Bilingual Education 1985 Bilingual programs 16 NA 513 0.10
Dissertation Oh A Comparative study of quantitative vs. qualitative synthesis of Title VII Bilingual Education Programs for Asian children in New York City 1987 Bilingual programs for Asian students 54 6,207 115 1.21
Bilingual Research Journal Greene A meta-analysis of the Rossell and Baker review of bilingual education research 1997 Bilingual programs 11 2,719 11 0.18
Dissertation McField Does program quality matter? A meta-analysis of select bilingual education studies 2002 Bilingual programs 10 NA 12 0.35
Review of Educational Research Slavin & Cheung A Synthesis of Research on Language of Reading Instruction for English Language Learners 2005 Bilingual and English-only reading programs 17 NA 17 0.45
Review of Educational Research Reljic, Ferring, & Martin A meta-analysis on the effectiveness of bilingual programs in Europe 2015 Bilingual programs 5 NA 70 0.23
Review of Educational Research Prevoo, Malda, Mesman, & van IJzendoorn Within-and cross-language relations between oral language proficiency and school outcomes in bilingual children with an immigrant background: A meta-analytical study 2016 Oral language proficiency of Bilingual on achievement 95 6,779 67 0.75
Educational Policy Rolstad, Mahoney, & Glass The Big Picture: A Meta-Analysis of Program Effectiveness Research on English Language Learners 2005 Bilingual programs 67 NA 67 0.23
Review of Educational Research Adesope, Lavin, Thompson, & Ungerleider A systematic review and meta-analysis of the cognitive correlates of bilingualism. 2010 Bilingual programs 63 6,022 63 0.39
Review of Educational Research Cheung & Slavin Effective Reading Programs for Spanish-Dominant English Language Learners (ELLs) in the Elementary Grades: A Synthesis of Research 2012 Bilingual in Spanish for reading 13 2,000 13 0.21
Psychological Bulletin Gunnerud, ten Braak, Reikeras, Donolato, & Melby-Lervag Is bilingualism related to a cognitive advantage in children? A systematic review and meta-analysis. 2020 Bilingual programs 143 NA 583 0.06
TOTAL/AVERAGE 510 24,984 1,547 0.36
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