Performing with a margin of 40% worse on the Texas state test, Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills (TAKS), than non-ELLs, ELLs in grades 9 through 12 dropped out at twice the rate and had twice the retention rates of their peers (Cortez & Villareal, 2009). With high-stakes testing remaining a measure under NCLB, and LEP students receiving bilingual or ESL services, this study explored this instructional cadre’s response to the data and responsibility for educating these children to master the curriculum for which they were assessed. Meier, Hawes, Sargent, and Theobald (2005) asserted that as the number of LEP (limited English proficient) students served by either ESL or bilingual education programs increase, Latino dropout rates will decrease. An important indicator of how well Latino students are faring in the U.S. public school system is the rate at which they drop out of school (Fry, 2003). This study explored the impact of collaborative lesson planning for Latino ESL students in the content area of middle school science.