84 data to quantitative results from an experiment (Creswell, 2015). Student achievement was measured by the English I EOC. The addition of the perceptions of the students in the program provided the current study additional details about the experiences of students receiving the specialized instruction. Quantitative data was gathered from STAAR EOC English I results from the students who participated in the newcomer program and the nonparticipants. The quantitative data was collected for the 2018-2019 participants and nonparticipants. Qualitative data was gathered on students’ perceptions about U.S. schooling and the secondary newcomer program. The qualitative data was collected for the 2017-2018 and 2018-2019 participants and nonparticipants. The target population was students whose first experience with U.S. schooling was in the secondary setting. The secondary setting included students enrolled in Grades 9-12. The program provided intense language acquisition instruction in a small group setting for 2 hours and 30 minutes daily for 1 school year. Core classes of math, science, and history were also provided in a small group setting. A small group setting is less than 20 students. At the end of the school year, the program finishes for the cohort of students and they return to a regular secondary course schedule and class sizes the next school year. A set of criteria was established to qualify for the specialized secondary newcomer program. There were four criteria needed for qualification. The first criterion was that the student had to be a newly-arrived immigrant to the United States; meaning they had to be born in a country other than the United States and never had been enrolled in a U.S. school. The second criterion was that the student must have been identified as a Non-English speaker on the TEA locally approved oral proficiency test, IPT. The third item was that the student must score below the 40th percentile on the TEA locally approved reading and writing proficiency test, ITBS. The fourth item was that the student must be either 15 or 16 years of age. In addition to the four criteria needed for qualification, this specialized program involved choice. Parents had to approve participation in the program; it was not designated as mandatory participation if students met qualifications. For the purpose of the quantitative portion of the current study, the program participant group was compromised of 12 participants in the secondary newcomer program of the 2018-2019 school year. The nonparticipant group for the quantitative portion of the current study matched the sample size of 12 students. The nonparticipant group consisted of students who met at least 2 out of the 4 qualification criteria. The independent sample t-test revealed that program participants did not have a significantly higher mean overall raw score on the STAAR English I EOC. The results of the Mann-Whitney U tests as shown in Figure 1 confirmed these results. The independent sample t-test and Mann-Whitney U tests revealed that program nonparticipants have a significantly higher mean overall raw score on the STAAR English I EOC. Although these results rejected the null hypothesis, the alternative hypothesis was also rejected. The qualitative analyses revealed that newcomer program participants and non-program participants share similar perceptions regarding the most difficult part about U.S. schools. The common theme that emerged between both groups was that learning English is the most difficult part of U.S. schooling. The qualitative analyses also revealed differences in perceptions between program participants and nonparticipants; initial feeling entering U.S. school and preparation for graduation. The qualitative analyses revealed that program participants felt nervous and excited as their initial emotions entering U.S. schools, while program non-participants felt happy, that school was going to be hard, and they were scared. The qualitative analyses revealed that program nonparticipants feel prepared to graduate high school as program participants do not feel prepared to graduate high school. Overall, program participants felt good about being in the newcomer class and felt that the class and teacher helped them learn English and become more comfortable with schooling in the United States. The program nonparticipants also expressed good experiences with school and felt that the Anmarie Garcia, EdD
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