Article U.S.-born don't learn the language easily

In Liberal, I had a first hand experience of individuals not knowing how to speak or write English. My mom is a T1 reading teacher for one of the middle schools in Liberal. She encounters 8th graders that have the reading level of a second grader. There is a huge gap between those who grew up learning the language and those that have to learn it after they come into this country. I think that we need to bring the gap closer together but that's a difficult challenge. Should we have different standards for individuals that don't speak this language in public schools and for state assessment? This seems like one of the only ways to be able to judge and show an individuals growth.