Daniel J. Reschly

Disproportionate Representation of Minority Students in Special Education: Academic, Demographic, and Economic Predictors

Research on variables that predict disproportionate representation of minority students in special education has often ignored an important variable—academic achievement. This study examined the prediction of representation of students from various minority racial/ethnic groups using district-level academic, demographic, and economic blocks of variables. The relative strength of these blocks was tested using weighted multiple least squares regression. The results show that academic achievement added significantly to predictive models for various racial/ethnic groups and disability categories. Implications and directions for future research are also discussed.

Overrepresentation of Minority Students The Case for Greater Specificity or Reconsideration of the Variables Examined

The topic of overrepresentation certainly commands attention in the literature on “judgmental categories” of disability (e.g., ‘learning disabilities, mild mental retardation), yet the evidence reported to date bearing on the issue are less than precise. Clearly, the issue is broader than simple overrepresentation, given that far more egregious examples of overrepresentation in Head Start and Chapter I have yet to be criticized, let alone taken to court. In this article the authors distinguish between the percentage of category or program by group and percentage of group in category or program which provide quite different perspectives. Futhermore, the authors caution drawing causal inferences from what are descriptive data relating “race/ethnicity” to “placement in disability category.” Caution is in order because the data reported by OCR represent aggregated data on race/ethnicity from sources that use different approaches to recording a childs race, fail to account for biracial children, and fail to consider the possibility that social class rather than race/ethnicity may be implicated. The second variable considered is placement in state-sactioned disability categories. The variability in rates across states reported in Annual Reports to Congress, coupled with research data demonstrating the lack of decision reliability, raises serious doubts concerning the validity of these designations. Cross-tabulating two categorical variables so fraught with measurement problems compromises any conclusions that might be drawn.

Referral Rates for Intervention or Assessment A Meta-Analysis of Racial Differences

This study synthesized the literature on the rates of referral for intervention or assessment of students from three racial groups: Caucasian, African American, and Hispanic. Ten studies, published or unpublished, that presented frequency counts for the population and the referred sample for at least one school district yielded 44 comparisons. For comparisons between African American and Caucasian students, the mean risk ratios comparing the referral rates were significantly different from zero. No significant differences were found between the referral rates of Hispanic students and Caucasian students. Implications, limitations, and directions for future research are presented.

STATE SLD IDENTIFICATION POLICIES AND PRACTICES

Specific learning disabilities (SLD) conceptual definitions and classification criteria were examined through a survey of state education agency (SEA) SLD contact persons in an effort to update information last published in 1996. Most prior trends continued over the last decade. Results showed that SEA SLD classification criteria continue to be dominated by three features, severe discrepancy between intellectual ability and achievement, specified achievement areas, and exclusion factors. Significant variability between states also continues to exist in SLD prevalence, conceptual definitions, and classification criteria. SLD diagnostic decisions depend heavily on SEA classification criteria, producing potential changes in the eligibility of children for special education depending on their state of residence. Dissatisfaction with current SLD criteria is discussed along with likely future trends.

Prereferral Interventions: Quality Indices and Outcomes.

Abstract Quality indicators of prereferral interventions (i.e., behavioral definition, direct measure, step-by-step plan, treatment integrity, graphing of results, and direct comparison to baseline) were investigated as predictors of prereferral intervention outcomes with a sample of regular education teachers and related services personnel on the same 312 students. The majority of the prereferral interventions were deficient in these critical areas; however, the presence of quality indices was related to positive student outcomes. The results suggested that (a) prereferral interventions varied dramatically in quality, (b) the use of quality indices influenced the outcomes of prereferral interventions, and (c) improved quality of interventions led to more successful outcomes for students.

Social Skill Deficits and Low Peer Acceptance of Mainstreamed Learning Disabled Children.

Positive social behaviors and peer acceptance of 100 mainstreamed learning disabled and 100 nonhandicapped children were compared. Highly significant differences between the two groups were found in peer acceptance as well as the social skill domains of task-related, interpersonal, environmentally and self-related behaviors. Deficits were evident in both school and home settings and were consistent across teacher, parent, and peer judges. Implications of the findings are discussed in terms of behavioral repertoires expected by teachers, the low priority assigned to social skills by teachers, and the conceptualization of behavioral ratings as mediators between actual behavior and important social outcomes for learning disabled children.

Special Education Teacher Preparation in Classroom Management: Implications for Students with Emotional and Behavioral Disorders.

Special education teachers’ skills with classroom organization and behavior management affect the emergence and persistence of behavior problems as well as the success of inclusive practice for students with emotional and behavioral disorders (EBD). Adequate special education teacher preparation and strong classroom organization and behavior management skills are critical for teachers of students with EBD. Little research has been conducted to determine the extent to which special education teacher preparation programs provide teachers with adequate instruction on classroom organization and behavior management techniques. Course syllabi from 26 special education teacher preparation programs were reviewed. Results indicate a highly variable emphasis on classroom organization and management between programs. Programs tended to emphasize reactive procedures. Only 27% (n = 7) of the university programs had an entire course devoted to classroom management. The remaining 73% (n = 19) of university programs had content related to behavior management dispersed within various courses. Limitations and implications for special education teacher preparation and inclusive practices are discussed.

I. Validity of WISC-R factor scores in predicting achievement and attention for four sociocultural groups

Abstract The predictive validity of WISC-R factor scores was examined with samples from the four sociocultural groups of Anglo, Black, Chicano, and native American Papago. The Full Scale IQ and Verbal Comprehension (VC) factor scores were significantly better predictors of achievement as measured by teacher ratings and the Metropolitan Achievement Test. The Perceptual Organization and Freedom from Distractibility (FD) factor scores were also significantly related to achievement, but at a lower level than Full Scale and VC. The correlations of the WISC-R and achievement measures were nearly the same for three of the four groups (exception was native American Papago). The relationship of the FD factor score to ratings of attention was statistically significant, but relatively low. Cautions in interpreting FD as a measure of attention were recommended due to overlap of distributions and low proportion of variance in attention accounted for by FD.

School psychology consultation: “Frenzied, faddish, or fundamental?”

Abstract A review of the current school psychology literature reveals that the term consultation is increasingly used to describe a variety of intervention goals and processes. The history of the consultation role in school psychology and the background and assumptions of three currently popular consultation models are discussed. Finally, suggestions are offered for more precise usage of the term consultation in order to accurately describe, implement, and research the school psychologists roles.

Dimensions of social competence: Method factors in the assessment of adaptive behavior, social skills, and peer acceptance

Abstract Dimensions of social competence were investigated by several measures of adaptive behavior, social skills, and peer acceptance. Principal components analysis of the measures revealed that the method of measurement was clearly the most important factor in the assessment of social competence. The five-factor solution to the principal components analysis was defined by the five methods used to operationalize social competence (i.e., method factors). Correlation analysis showed relatively weak relations among the same social competence domains measured by different methods. The results are discussed in the context of convergent and discriminant validity and the interacting influences of method, setting, and content on the assessment of social competence.