Amanda L. Sullivan

Theorizing Racial Inequity in Special Education: Applying Structural Inequity Theory to Disproportionality

Despite decades of research examining the disproportionate representation of racial minority students in special education, our understanding of the complexity of disproportionality remains incomplete and much of the previous research was designed without a clear theoretical framework. This exploratory study applied a structural theoretical lens as a means of understanding racial inequity in special education across analytical scales, racial groups, and disability categories. The findings confirm differential risk of educational disability across racial groups. Based on the theory adopted, several hypotheses were tested regarding the relations of relative risk to district structural features, with conflicting results found.

A Situated Analysis of Special Education Disproportionality for Systemic Transformation in an Urban School District

The disproportionate representation of students from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds in special education programs is a complex issue that has long troubled practitioners, educational leaders, and researchers. This article reports on a mixed-method collaborative case analysis that examined local patterns of disproportionality in an urban school district and the district’s systemic transformation effort to address disproportionality. In a close collaboration with the district’s special education leadership team, we utilized student-level quantitative data from 2006 through 2010 to examine temporal patterns of disproportionality along with qualitative data on the leadership team’s perceptions and actions. Our analyses showed that risk of overidentification was greatest for African American, American Indian, low-income, and male students. The study illustrates a method of collaborative analysis and the importance of such analyses for understanding and addressing variously localized patterns of disproportionality. The findings contribute to the literature on disproportionality and inform systemic change efforts in diverse sociocultural contexts of urban school districts.

Examining an Executive Function Rating Scale as a Predictor of Achievement in Children at Risk for Behavior Problems.

Evidence suggests that executive function (EF) may be a potent and malleable predictor of academic achievement in children. Schools may be able to use this predictive power if researchers develop EF measures that not only have ecological and construct validity, but also are also efficient and affordable. To this end, Garcia-Barrera and colleagues (2011) developed a behavior rating scale from items on Behavior Assessment System for Children-Teacher Report (Reynolds & Kamphaus, 1992) to screen children for deficits in EF. It is important to know how well this measure fits and predicts data from young children identified as at risk for behavior disorders because this population is often the focus of prevention and intervention efforts. The present study used confirmatory factor analysis to investigate how well the factor structure of the EF screener fit data from 220 kindergartners at risk for developing behavior disorders. The relationships between EF and academic achievement in math and reading were also examined. The confirmatory factor analysis results indicated adequate model-data fit, but the multiple regression models yielded trivial effect sizes, indicating EF scores did not predict well either kindergarten or first-grade achievement scores when controlling for gender and intelligence scores. The studys limitations and future research needed on the convergence of EF measurements were discussed.

A Systematic Review of School-Based Social-Emotional Interventions for Refugee and War-Traumatized Youth

Refugees often experience significant psychological distress, but many do not receive necessary services. Among children and youth, most mental health services are provided by schools, so schools are an important service provider for young refugees. We conducted a systemic literature review to synthesize and evaluate the existing research on school-based interventions to improve mental health or social-emotional functioning of students who are refugees, asylum seekers, or immigrants with war trauma. Three types of school-based interventions were identified: cognitive behavioral therapy, creative expression, and multitiered or multimodal models. The review identified several interventions with positive effects, as well as multiple interventions that had null or negative effects. We address the implications of this body of intervention research for practice and research.

Is There Evidence to Support the Use of Social Skills Interventions for Students with Emotional Disabilities

Scholars and practitioners advocate for the use of social skills interventions for students with emotional disabilities because significant social skills deficits are common among these students. Yet contemporary practices must be vetted for empirical evidence of their efficacy and effectiveness to ensure students are provided appropriate services. In this systematic review, the authors evaluated research examining the effectiveness of social skills interventions for students with emotional disabilities. The authors applied quality indicators to appraise the characteristics of the nine studies identified and found that they did not meet these rigorous methodological criteria. This review underscores the need for more and better studies of school-based social skills interventions within this population to support using such interventions with students with emotional disabilities.

Multivariate Screening Model for Later Word Reading Achievement: Predictive Utility of Prereading Skills and Cognitive Ability

The present study used multiple regression to determine the predictive value of Kindergarten phonemic awareness, rapid serial naming, letter knowledge, and cognitive ability for predicting first-grade word reading and fluency. Participants were 131 first-grade students from a mid-Atlantic school system. A combination of predictor variables was found to be more effective than single measures in predicting later word reading and reading fluency, with cognitive ability, phonemic awareness, and letter knowledge contributing significantly to the prediction of skill. The results underscore the need to use a multivariate battery, rather than any single measure, along with consideration of intelligence, to identify children for early intervention.

Addressing Special Education Inequity Through Systemic Change: Contributions of Ecologically Based Organizational Consultation

Since the inception of special education, scholars and practitioners have been concerned about the disproportionate representation of students from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds among students identified with disabilities. Professional efforts to address this disproportionality have encompassed a range of targets, but scholars increasingly view disproportionality as a complex, multiply-determined problem that requires systemic change to ameliorate disparities. In this article, we describe a framework for systemic change to foster equity in special education identification and placement. We discuss the use of ecologically oriented organizational consultation as a means of facilitating systemic change, emphasizing the role of stakeholders, and the implications for school psychology practice and training.

Culturally and Linguistically Responsive Practices in Psychoeducational Reports for English Language Learners.

Past researchers suggested there are a number of shortcomings in the psychoeducational evaluation process and practices used with English language learners (ELLs). In the present exploratory study, the authors descriptively examined the assessment practices used in the special education eligibility determination process for ELLs as documented in 34 psychoeducational evaluation reports in one southwestern state. The authors reviewed psychoeducational evaluation reports prepared by school psychologists to determine (a) the extent to which school psychologists adhered to legal and ethical guidelines in the evaluation of ELLs for special education eligibility and needs and (b) how school psychologists account for cultural and linguistic differences in the evaluation process. Results indicated that school psychologists rarely used culturally and linguistically responsive practices such as the use of interpretation and translation services and language proficiency data, as well as limited adherence to legal and ethical recommendations. We address implications for training and practice.

Longitudinal Models of Reading Achievement of Students With Learning Disabilities and Without Disabilities.

Objective: Accurate estimation of developmental trajectories can inform instruction and intervention. We compared the fit of linear, quadratic, and piecewise mixed-effects models of reading development among students with learning disabilities relative to their typically developing peers. Method: We drew an analytic sample of 1,990 students from the nationally representative Early Childhood Longitudinal Study–Kindergarten Cohort of 1998, using reading achievement scores from kindergarten through eighth grade to estimate three models of students’ reading growth. Results: The piecewise mixed-effects models provided the best functional form of the students’ reading trajectories as indicated by model fit indices. Results showed slightly different trajectories between students with learning disabilities and without disabilities, with varying but divergent rates of growth throughout elementary grades, as well as an increasing gap over time. Conclusions: These results highlight the need for additional research on appropriate methods for modeling reading trajectories and the implications for students’ response to instruction.

Does the Empirical Literature Inform Prevention of Dropout among Students with Emotional Disturbance? A Systematic Review and Call to Action

ABSTRACT For the past 30 years, the dropout rate for students with emotional disturbance has hovered around 50%, a rate substantially higher than the dropout rate for students with other disabilities and the general population. This systematic review evaluated the literature published between 1990 and 2013 on the effectiveness of dropout prevention and intervention for students with emotional disturbance. Only one experimental or quasi-experimental study tested a dropout prevention program with students with emotional disturbance meeting the methodological criteria for this review. The results reveal a dearth of research-based strategies or programs to support high school completion among students with emotional disturbance, underscoring the need for rigorous intervention research to improve outcomes for these students. We discuss implications for research and practice in light of this research gap.