About CSEL
The Center for the Success of English Learners (CSEL), started in 2020, is a collaboration of scholars from the University of Houston, NYU, Harvard University, the University of Texas at Austin, Strategic Educational Research Partnership Institute, and the Center for Applied Linguistics. CSEL conducts several intersecting research strands aimed at identifying and removing barriers to English learners’ access to rigorous instruction. CSEL’s work examines structural and instructional strategies, with a particular focus on those identified by the National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine’s report, English learners in STEM subjects.
About CSEL's Policy Strand
The Research Alliance for New York City Schools is supporting Dr. Michael Kieffer's work leading CSEL’s policy strand. This research explores how policies, structures, and system-level practices may constrain or enhance secondary English Learners' access to the general curriculum. Dr. Kieffer’s studies leverage multiple large state and local datasets, including data from the NYC Department of Education, as well as original survey data and policy document analyses, to explore:
- The extent of tracking that English Learners face,
- The predictors of tracking (including educator attitudes and beliefs, implementation of policies, etc.), and
- The outcomes associated with tracking (including achievement, English language proficiency, graduation, and post-secondary enrollment).
Learn more about the Center for the Success of English Learners on their website.
CSEL is supported by the U.S. Department of Education’s Institute of Education Sciences, through Grant R305C200016 to the University of Houston.
NYU Project Team
Michael Kieffer
Kristin Black
Lindsay Romano
Ben Le
Laurné Jones
Cici Dong
Cathy Liu