The academic achievement of limited-English-speaking (LEP) students has long been a major national educational concern. This digest focuses on: (1) factors that promote or inhibit academic achievement in a second language; (2) the length of time needed for LEP students to achieve at comparable levels in school with their native English-speaking peers; (3) the transfer of skills in the first language to English; (4) program models that promote academic achievement in a second language; and (5) the assessment of academic achievement. (VWL)