The multiple methods used in this study involved analysis of both quantitative data to identify the schools and qualitative data to create portraits of these schools. The qualitative data analyses for the individual case studies were conducted induc- tively. Interviews were coded openly, allowing the stories of success in each school to emerge from the data. The analysis of themes across the four case studies was deductive, guided by the ELL best practices framework, which was based on empiri- cal evidence of what works for ELL school success. Using the framework, we identified the practices and strategies across schools that were found by other researchers as correlated with attributes of effective schools for ELL students. We also identi- fied case study findings that did not appear on the framework but did across the case study schools. Thus, we both confirmed aspects of the theoreti- cal framework as well as identified new areas for inquiry. The process of analyzing the case studies brought up the question of what “evidence-based practice” means. Because the literature base for the ELL practice framework was stringently formed based upon correlative and causative research, the practices identified were largely ones that resulted in increased test scores. However, large swaths of scholarly research on teaching and learning for ELL students are ignored by these stringent criteria. We must recognize the limitations of the framework
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APPENDIX 1:
108 Learning from Consistently High Performing and Improving Schools for English Language Learners in Boston Public Schools