Taking foreign languages in high school

This study examined variability in foreign language courses taken by students in American high schools. The conceptual model for the study depicted engagement in language courses as being shaped by (1) the school's offerings; (2) school policies and practices that determine access for some or all students, and (3) student choice: the focus of the study was on the first two of these. Data consisted of actual course catalogues of three hundred forty public and private high schools, and transcripts of approximately twenty-four thousand students who graduated from those schools in 1994. Course offerings in specific languages and summary measures of offerings were examined by school sector, enrollment, urbanicity, and socioeconomic status. Course-taking, with total credits and advanced study considered separately, was summarized for the student sample. Finally, course-taking was examined in a statistical model that included school demographic characteristics, school policies (language requirements; advanced language offerings), and student characteristics including academic track. In addition to providing descriptive information about language offerings and course-taking, the investigation underscored the importance of advanced offerings (especially for more able students), the effects of school-wide language requirements (especially for lower-track students), and the deleterious effect of tracking on foreign language study.