Most English learners in California schools are seriously underperforming and most of their teachers are not prepared to meet their needs, according to Patricia Gándara of the School of Education.

The professor, who is a leading expert in minority language instruction and Latino education issues, recently challenged the good news interpretation of the latest results of the 2004 administration of the annual California English Language Development Test at a hearing at the State Capitol. At the invitation of the Assembly Education committee, Gándara presented data on student achievement and preliminary results of a major new study of 5,300 teachers of English-learners.

"The basic assumption is that because En-glish learners are gaining in English language proficiency, they are likely to perform better in their academic subjects," she said. "An analysis of California standards tests results and the dismally small percentage of English-learners who are passing the state's high school exit exam simply does not bear this out."

To illustrate the achievement gap between native speakers and English-learners, Gándara told the committee that 46 percent of tenth graders whose first language is English passed the English Language Arts portion of the high school exit exam in 2004, as compared with only 4 percent of English-learners.

"This is certainly not good news for English speakers, but the gap is astounding," Gándara said.

Attributing much of the gap to new state policies that place students in English-only classrooms with little or no ability to speak or read English and to a lack of training and preparation of teachers, Gándara urged the Legislature to "not just brush off" the problems facing English-learners in California.

"I am terribly concerned nobody is paying attention," said Gándara.