The purpose of this study was to compare achievement test scores in reading and mathematics between urban elementary students in grades three, four, and five who studied a foreign language and urban elementary students who did not. The objective was to add to the research base on FLES (Foreign Language in the Elementary School), especially in relationship to the academic benefits of foreign language study by children.

The study employed a mixed methodology design. Quantitatively, it examined the percentage scores of third, fourth and fifth graders for three consecutive years on the Ohio Achievement Tests to compare two matched schools - one with a foreign language program and one without - in four urban districts in Ohio. Qualitatively, the four different FLES programs-total-, partial-, and dual immersion, and content-enriched FLES were investigated through surveys, web sites and interviews to determine variations in time, content, and teaching strategies that contribute to a quality program.

The findings of the research indicated that foreign language students in these urban districts outperformed their non-foreign language counterparts in 89 percent of their testing situations over three years in reading and in 85 percent of the testing situations in mathematics.