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[quote=Anonymous]Elementary immersion may result more in language familiarity/comfort than grammatical mastery.  Sort of like elementary ELA, though there certainly are high flyers who run well with it.  Middle school is more where that more formal instruction occurs, though, like all things middle school, there appears to be a bit of a disconnect and possible watering down, and there is a more complete disconnect upon entering high school (though Spanish continues to offer the greatest breadth of options).

Meanwhile, immersion can be a great and relatively unique experience, and would support/broaden your child's existing competency.  It may also present wonderful cultural touch points.  The challenge provided may not be as applicable to a student arriving with fluency and regular at-home exposure, but many families in that circumstance still have found it worth pursuing.

On the other hand, the lack of ELA may result in lower-than-representative-of-ability standardized test scores when taken in English.  There are some tests for which Spanish is supported, whereas French and Mandarin typically are not (it also is harder to source material in these languages, though that is less applicable to Mandarin, where only Math and Science are formally taught in the target language), but I do not believe this to be the case for MAP, which is currently used by MCPS as the test factor for CES (4th-5th humanities enrichment magnets) and criteria-based MS magnets (Humanities or Math/Science/CS).[/quote]

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