Language lessons learned: the changing state of foreign language instruction in U.S. schools. From the study:

The most recent data reveal a downward trend in the share of schools offering courses in languages other than English (LOTE) but an increase in the share of secondary students pursuing such learning opportunities….

  • The share of high school students graduating in 2019 with LOTE credits was 89%, up from 72% in 1990. Over 70% of graduates had earned credits in Spanish—a 23 percentage-point increase from 1990. Twelve percent had earned credits in French, down from 21% in 1990. The small percentage of 2019 graduates that had studied German or Latin represented a decrease from 1990….
  • Over the two decades for which data are available, private elementary schools were substantially more likely than public schools to expose their students to LOTE, and the disparity increased over time. In 2007–2008, 51% of private elementary schools offered LOTE, a share 36 percentage points higher than for public schools, while 20 years earlier the gap was 17 points….
  • The share of secondary schools offering courses in LOTE fell from 1996–1997 to 2007–2008. The change was attributable to a statistically significant drop in the proportion of middle schools offering LOTE courses, from 75% to 58%.

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