The language problem of emigrant children has two major aspects: (1) concern for mother tongue maintenance; and (2) concern that the children are not learning the second language, which is the official language of the host country. The first is primarily the concern of the family, whereas the second is the concern of the entire community. Massive school failure on the part of emigrant children has brought about federal legislation mandating bilingual education programs. Research done with Finnish students in Swedish schools and French-speaking students in English-language schools in Canada show that the students who do better in their mother tongue also do better in the second language and in other academic courses. The evidence for the importance of mother tongue development seems overwhelmingly clear, and in the United States, as in Europe, the educational consequence is, or should be, bilingual education. The goal of bilingual education programs, stable bilingualism, makes them vital parts of any educational program. The assessment of the efficacy of bilingual education, however, varies widely, and there is a widespread difference of opinions on its aims and objectives. One of the best indicators with which to evaluate these programs is the drop-out rate, not a psychometric assessment of the students' language skills. (CFM)