The Language Assessment Battery was administered as a pre- and post-test to 731 students (mostly Spanish-speaking) in bilingual programs in New Jersey. In all grades tested, results consistently showed that third-year bilingual students outscored first and second year students in English language skills. This supports the contention that bilingual education promotes English skills development. It was also demonstrated that bilingual students had made significant gains relative to English-speaking children in eight of the twelve grades tested. For example, the average post-test score of second grade students who had started bilingual programs in kindergarten surpassed the average English-speaking student's theoretical norm (54.3 as compared to 50.0). This finding argues in favor of early bilingual education intervention. Finally, it was discovered that, in general, elementary school students made much larger gains than high school students. Recommendations for adjustments to bilingual policy based on these findings are set forth. (Author/JB)