Research Paper (postgraduate) from the year 2017 in the subject Speech Science / Linguistics, language: English, abstract: Due to the importance of English language proficiency in education, this study looks to examine the relationship between student performance and language. Especially it explores student performance on standardized tests assessing science, the first language the student learned, the language used to teach students in their first and second year of learning science in the U.S., and race. This paper used the National Education Longitudinal Study: 1988/2000 (NELS: 88) database from the National Center for Educational Statistics (NCES, 2002). The main aim of this paper is to sensitize teachers if primary language and language of instruction influences how students perform, it is imperative that teaching be adjusted for students who may not speak English as a primary language in school.