Science for All, Including Students From Non-English-Language Backgrounds OKHEE LEE SANDRA H. FRADD Standards-based reform across subject areas has an overarching goal of achieving high academic standards for all students. Al- though much is known about what constitutes high academic standards, little attention has been given to the attainment of ed- ucational equity for all students. In this article, we propose the no- tion of instructional congruence as a way of making academic content accessible, meaningful, and relevant for diverse learners. Although our discussion considers students from non-English- language backgrounds (NELB) in science education, comparable approaches can be applied to other diverse student groups and other subject areas. We discuss an agenda for research, practice, and policy in promoting high standards for all students across subject areas. Educational Researcher, Vol. 27, No. 4, pp. 12-21 S tandards-based reform across subject areas has an overarching goal: high academic standards for all stu- dents (McLaughlin, Shepard, & O'Day, 1995; Smith & O'Day, 1991). Core components are emphasized for high academic standards across subject areas, including an un- derstanding of key concepts and relationships, inquiry and problem-solving, communication and discourse, and dis- positions or habits of mind in a discipline (Glaser & Linn, 1997; McLaughlin et al., 1995; National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, 1989; National Research Council, 1996). Although research has provided a knowledge base for high standards of curriculum, instruction, and assessment across subject areas, the attainment of educational equity has received little attention. In fact, there is a great concern that "lack of support in reaching high standards will further victimize students already harmed by gross inequalities in the educational system" (McLaughlin et al., 1995, p. 68). In addition to questioning the nation's ability to meet the ed- ucational needs of its children, in her 1996 AERA presiden- tial address, Linda Darling-Hammond emphasized the im- portance of creating a knowledge base so that all students can achieve high standards: What would it actually mean to teach all children to the high standards politicians talk about and educators are trying to fashion? What are the real educational implica- tions of the school reform mantra "all children can learn"? What kinds of teaching practices support learning that en- ables higher levels of performance and understanding for different kinds of learners? . . . These are central research questions for the contemporary reinvention of democratic education. Their answers rest in part, I believe, on our growing ability to produce knowledge for and with edu- cators and policymakers in ways that provide a founda- tion for a more complex form of teaching practice, one that attends simultaneously to students and their diverse needs on one hand and to the demands of more challeng- ing subject matter standards on the other. (p. 8, original emphasis) In this article, we discuss a process of promoting high academic standards for students from non-English- language backgrounds (NELB), an often underserved, yet rapidly growing population. We propose the notion of in- structional congruence to indicate the process of mediating the nature of academic content with students' language and cultural experiences to make such content (e.g., science) ac- cessible, meaningful, and relevant for diverse students (e.g., NELB students). The framework for instructional congru- ence for NELB students in science education integrates lit- eracy and science to promote achievement in both areas (see Figure 1). We begin by explaining the framework of in- structional congruence. Then we describe the components of instructional congruence, including the students, literacy, science, and teachers. We close the article by proposing an agenda for research, practice, and policy to promote high academic standards for all students. Although our discus- sion focuses on NELB students in science education, com- parable approaches can be applied to other diverse student groups and other subject areas. The Framework of Instructional Congruence Traditionally, science has been taught with the expectation that students will understand and learn when teachers pre- sent the content in scientifically appropriate ways. In the framework in Figure 1, the emphasis has been on the left side of the science-literacy graphic with little consideration to students' literacy, language, and cultural understanding. OKHEE LEE is an associate professor in the Department of Teach- ing and Learning, School of Education, P. O. Box 248065, Uni- versity of Miami, Coral Gables, FL 33124. She specializes in sci- ence education and language and culture. SANDRA H. FRADD IS a professor in the Department of Teaching and Learning, School of Education, P. O. Box 248065, University of Miami, Coral Gables, FL 33124. Her specialties are Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages and second-language assessment. 12 EDUCATIONAL RESEARCHER