ARCHIVED INFORMATION

FOREIGN LANGUAGE ASSISTANCE PROGRAM

Goal: Help students reach the national education objective of mastering one or more Funding History
foreign languages. ($ in millions)

Fiscal Year Appropriation Fiscal Year Appropriation

Legislation: Title VII, Part B, of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) 1985 $0 2000 $8
of 1965, as amended (20 U.S.C. 7511). 1990 $0 2001 $14
1995 $11 2002 (Requested) $0

Program Description
The Foreign Language Assistance Program (FLAP) provides grants, on a competitive basis, to state education agencies (SEAs) or local education agencies (LEAs) to
support innovative model programs that establish, improve, or expand foreign language study for elementary and secondary school students. The FY2000 FLAP
competition gave preference to applications in which projects proposed to carry out one or more of the following activities:
• intensive summer foreign language programs for professional development;
• linking non-native English speakers in the community with the schools in order to promote two-way language learning; or
• promoting the sequential study of a foreign language, beginning in elementary schools.

FLAP projects promote systemic approaches to improving foreign language learning; show promise of being continued beyond their project period; and demonstrate
approaches that can be disseminated and duplicated in other districts. Seventy-five of the funds are used at the elementary level. The federal share is 50 percent, but the
Secretary may waive this requirement if the school district does not have adequate resources to pay the nonfederal share, as determined by the Secretary.

For more information, please visit the program Web site at: http://www.ed.gov/offices/OBEMLA/

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Program Performance
OBJECTIVE 1: IMPROVE FOREIGN LANGUAGE PROFICIENCY OF STUDENTS SERVED BY THE FOREIGN LANGUAGE ASSISTANCE PROGRAM (FLAP).
Indicator 1.1 Increased student achievement: The percentage of students participating in Foreign Language Assistance Program (FLAP)-supported instruction
who demonstrate educationally significant progress toward achieving communicative language proficiency will increase annually.
Targets and Performance Data Assessment of Progress Sources and Data Quality
Year Actual Performance Performance Targets Status: Positive movement toward target. Source: According to a 2000 draft analysis of
1999: Continuing increase annual performance reports and biennial
2000: Data recorded for students in a Continuing increase Explanation: Students achieved annual progress evaluation reports from a sample of grantees first
Japanese language project toward foreign language proficiency. Students funded in FY 1995 and 1996.
affirmed that their speaking and evidenced growing abilities to understand, Frequency: Annually.
listening gains exceeded the one pronounce, speak, read and write the language Next collection update: 2001.
level or more criteria specified. under study appropriate to the time engaged in Date to be reported: Unknown.
Furthermore, 88% demonstrated language learning and their own developmental
full gains of one or more skill levels. Research of the various grant reports and Validation Procedure: ED attestation process.
levels on the project’s rubric evaluations revealed overt attention by a
designed to measure writing substantial number of projects to the issue of Limitations of Data and Planned
ability. teaching students to function in real-life, Improvements: Limitations: There are no
communicative contexts. statutory reporting requirements. Grant reports
According to data provided by a indicate a multitude of various assessment
Spanish language project, the measurements used to determine and plot student
average score of the students who growth in language ability and cultural
were examined over the three- knowledge.
year period was 28, exceeding the
targeted goal by 8.

In another project, students at

every grade level made progress
within any given school year.
Pronunciation ratings always
measured higher than
comprehension, fluency,
vocabulary and grammar.
2001: Continuing increase
2002:

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OBJECTIVE 2: BUILD CAPACITY OF SCHOOLS IN FLAP TO TEACH FOREIGN LANGUAGES.
Indicator 2.1 The percentage of grantees that use national standards for determining student performance gains will increase annually.
Targets and Performance Data Assessment of Progress Sources and Data Quality
Year Actual Performance Performance Targets Status: Positive movement toward target. Source: According to a 2000 draft analysis of
1999: Continuing increase annual performance reports and biennial
2000: No Data Available Continuing increase Explanation: It is important to note that several evaluation reports from a sample of grantees first
2001: Continuing increase of the grants went beyond a cursory inclusion of funded in FY 1995 and 1996.
2002: the national foreign language standards. Frequency: Annually
National standards were employed as an Next collection update: 2001.
organizing principle to some extent by Date to be reported: Unknown.
participating projects.
Validation Procedure: ED attestation process.

Limitations of Data and Planned

Improvements: Limitations: The Standards for
Foreign Language Learning carries a copyright
date of 1996. Given that the grants were
awarded in FY 1995 and 1996 it is not surprising
that the majority of the grants do not incorporate
specific references to, or inspiration from, the
national standards.

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