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Narrative Synthesis of Migrant Students Profile in Oklahoma
The information presented in this report corresponds to the data for the school year 2005-
2006 as included in the Consolidated State Performance report Part 1, the State Report Card and
the statistical information reported by NAEP for the same period of time.
Demographics:
There are 3,005 identified migrant students eligible of services in the State of Oklahoma. Out
of this number, only 452 (18%) are considered as Priority for Services (PFS). Enrollment during
grades 1st through 5 is stable. By 6th grade the enrollment decreases and by 12th grade the numbers
decline approximately 50% as compared to the elementary level. Only 19% of all the eligible
students are identified as out of school (See Table 1).
Table 1.
Migrant student Population
0-
Kindergarten
1st-5th
grades
6th-8th
Grades
9th-12th
grades
Out of
school
Total
All eligible
migrant
children
17%
31%
18%
15%
19%
3,005
Priority of
Services
19% 40% 21% 20% 452
Percent of LEP
eligible
students
9%
49%
24%
18%
520
Percentage of
LEP Priority of
Services
54%
100%
100%
100%
413
Figures 1, and 2, show the comparison between the numbers of eligible students and those
considered PFS by grade group.
Figure 1. Migrant Student Population Data
57
344
114
243
209
161 159
173
0
66
19
45
37 36
0
37
9
71
56
41 30
46 32
39
0
50
100
150
200
250
300
350
400
0-2 3 to 5 K 1 2 3 4 5
Eligible for Services Priority of Services LEP Migrant Students
2
Figure 2. Migrant Student Population Data (6th-12th)
From the 3,005 migrant students eligible of services, 520 are identified as limited
English proficient, representing 18% however when compared with the PFS students, almost all of
the 452 students are also identified as LEPs. The age category of 3-5 shows such difference as this
is the group not tested for language proficiency identification.
Mobility
Figure 3 shows the number of students in the different categories as related to the qualifying
moves. The disaggregated data by age group show that the group with the higher degree of mobility
is the 1st to 5th grade (33%), while the other groups ranked from 16% to 20%.
Figure 3
Migrant Student Mobility by Grade
183
194
147
171
133
92
63
39
31 28 31 27
20
41
47
41
32 33
17 11
10
0
50
100
150
200
250
6th 7th 8th 9th 10th 11th 12th
Eligible for Services Priority of Services LEP Migrant Students
108
180
98 89
66
201
438
202
184
155 147
509
296
264
204
107
283
146
123
76
0
100
200
300
400
500
600
0-5 1st-5th 6th-8th 9th-12th Out of School
Within 12 Months Previous 13-24 months Previous 25-36 months No movement in last 37 months
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Figure 4
Migrant Student Mobility by Category of Moves
Acti
vitie
s
Qualifying activities of migrant families in the state are varied. They mainly include working at
chicken and beef processing plants, hog farming, ranching, fishing, agricultural activities and dairy
farms. Three categories were integrated to present the data. The first one to include families
involved in activities related to beef or chicken processing, hog farms, ranching and fishing. The
second category includes activities related to agriculture (cotton, peanuts, wheat, mushrooms,
melons, and sugar beets). The third category includes families working in a combination of meat
related industries and agricultural activities. Results are presented in Figure 5. Data show that 70%
of the families work in the first category, while 14% of the families have as their main occupation
agriculture and a 16% of the families work in sites where both agricultural and meat related
activities are found.
Figure 5
Migrant Families’ Qualifying Activities
541
1172
1428
735
0
200
400
600
800
1000
1200
1400
1600
Within 12 months Previous 13-24 months Previous 25-36 months Previous 36 months
Students all grades
1304
261
298
0
200
400
600
800
1000
1200
1400
Beef/Chicken processing; hog
farms & fishing
Agricultural Activities Combination of both type of
Activities
Number of Families
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Participation – Regular School Year
During the regular school year, 720 migrant students were served through the State Migrant
Education Program. Table 2 shows disaggregated participation data in the different instructional and
support services.
Table 2.
Migrant Education Students’ Participation in the Regular School Year
0-K 1st -5th 6th -8th 9th-12th Not
Graded
Total
Served in MEP with Instructional
or Support Service Only
92 282 159 117 70 720
Priority of Service 10 7 12 12 - 41
Continuation of Service 6 21 15 7 49
Any Instructional Service 59 214 106 64 443
Reading Instruction 22 43 20 18 103
Mathematics Instruction 0 0 0 0 0
High School Credit Accrual 0 0 0 433 433
Any support Service 0 4 4 3 11
Counseling Service 11 25 33 32 101
Any Referred Service 11 25 33 32 101
Note: No information is available for students referred to Special Education.
Two lines in the data shown in Table 2 two outstanding facts, 103 (14.2%) and 101 (14%) of
the migrant students enrolled in the regular school year received specific reading instruction and
counseling service respectively, while there is no information that any migrant student received
special mathematic instruction.
During the Summer Term or Intersession a total of 335 migrant children participated. Table 3
shows the data by type of service.
Table 3.
Migrant Students’ Participation in the Summer Session
0-K 1st -5th 6th -8th 9th-12th Out of
School
Total
Served in MEP with Instructional
or Support Service Only
46 160 75 53 1 335
Priority of Service 0 2 1 0 0 3
Continuation of Service 3 10 8 2 0 23
Any Instructional Service 1 42 17 13 0 73
Reading Instruction 2 11 7 1 0 21
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Achievement
Eight hundred and fifty two migrant students participated in the 2005-2006 school year Math
test administration, while eight hundred seventeen participated in the Reading/Language Arts
Assessment. The achievement data for migrant students included a comparison between the
Oklahoma State Mandated Standardized Test Results percent at proficiency or above and migrant
students’ attainment. Grades 3rd, 4th , 5th, 8th and HS take the State mandated standardized test in
math and reading. Figure 6 shows the percentage of students meeting the standards comparing
migrant and non migrant students for the math tests.
Figure 6.
Comparison of Percentage of Migrant and Non-Migrant Students Meeting the State Proficiency
Standard in the Mathematics Tests
72%
79%
76%
72%
33%
61%
70%
62% 62%
14%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
3rd 4th 5th 8th HS
All students Migrant students
The information shown in Figure 6 show a gap between both groups of 10% or more
in all the grades tested, being high school the grade where the difference is more significant
between the results of both groups. Figure 7 show the comparison of the results obtained by
both groups in the Reading/Language Arts
Figure 6
Comparison of Percentage of Migrant and Non-Migrant Students Meeting the State Proficiency
Standard in the Reading/Language Arts Tests
82%
86%
75% 75%
64%
61%
70%
57% 56%
43%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
3rd 4th 5th 8th HS
All students Migrant students
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The above results show as with Mathematics that there is a significant gap between the
percentages of students meeting the State proficiency standards for both groups. In this case the
two grade levels showing the greater difference are 3rd grade and HS. The data from the above
figures suggest that there is a need of implementing strategies to improve the academic
achievement of the migrant students in both mathematics and reading. Figure 7 shows the results
obtained by migrant students in the Mathematic State standardized test for the year 2004-2005 as
compared to the year 2005-2006, while Figure 8, shows the results for the same students and years
in the Reading/Language Arts Tests.
Figure 7
Percentage of Migrant Students Meeting the State Proficiency Levels in the Mathematics
Standardized Tests for the years 2004-2005 and 2005-2006.
63%
66% 65%
52%
11%
61%
70%
62% 62%
14%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
3rd 4th 5th 8th HS
2004-2005 2005-2206
Figure 8
Percentage of Migrant Students Meeting the State Proficiency Levels in the Reading/Language Arts
Standardized Tests for the years 2004-2005 and 2005-2006.
68%
72%
56%
39%
32%
61%
70%
57% 56%
43%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
3rd 4th 5th 8th HS
2004-2005 2005-2006
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School Data:
Throughout the state of Oklahoma, there are 86 schools enrolling migrant children with a
total of 2,653 students enrolled. Besides there are three other schools in which MEP funds are
combined in SWP with a total of 321 students. Thirty eight schools offer the regular school year
where all MEP services are provided during the school day only serving 2,433 migrant children and
there are seven schools offering the Summer/Intersession program serving 335 students. There is
no school that offers extended day services or a combination of regular year and summer session.
Personnel in the MEP
Besides the State Director, the MEP funds thirty teachers, one counselor, thirty six
paraprofessionals, twenty one recruiters and two record transfer staff during the regular school year.
During the summer the personnel comprises, the State Director, twenty-eight teachers, eight
paraprofessionals, two recruiters.
Conclusions
1. The Office of Migrant Education provided a list of the measures to consider in the
development of the Migrant Student Profile. The following measures still need to be identified to
have a whole picture of where the migrant students are at in the different grade levels.
- disaggregated data by gender
- ethnic heritage
- dropout and graduation rates
- attendance and exit trends
- economic status
- mobility patterns
- student employment patterns for high school students and
- core course completion patterns, with special emphasis on Algebra 1 and AP enrollment.
2. The different sections included in the above narrative show the tables and figures that can
self-explain the situation where the migrant students are at. The outstanding information obtained
from the above data includes:
a) There is a significant gap between the eligible migrant students and those eligible as PFS.
Only 15% of the eligible migrant students are considered for PFS
b) Most of the eligible migrant students fall in the category of elementary grade levels (1st -5th)
with 945 (31%) while there are only 459 (15%) at the high-school level.
c) From all the migrant students, only 81% attend school.
d) The academic achievement of the migrant students in the Mathematics area has improved
from the last year to the present year, however in the reading/language arts, the results show
that there is being a small decline in the lower grades while a significant increase in the
upper grades.
e) In order to identify the specific needs of the migrant students, more data needs to be
obtained.
