Informing the Change: A Best-Evidence Synthesis of Minority Disproportionality in Special Education from 1984-2004
Open Access
Author:
Kushnir, Caitlin Eileen
Area of Honors:
Education and Public Policy
Degree:
Bachelor of Science
Document Type:
Thesis
Thesis Supervisors:
Paul Morgan, Thesis Supervisor David Alexander Gamson, Thesis Honors Advisor
Keywords:
Disproportionality Special Education Minority IDEA Disabilities Education Policy Best Evidence Synthesis
Abstract:
Since the 1960s, scholars have studied the disproportionate proportion of minority students in special education. Research has pointed at a variety of factors, including structural and developmental variables that could affect the ratio of minority students placed into special education. In attempts to reduce improper placements of students, amendments were added to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act in 2004 that directly addressed disproportionality and required schools to collect data and allocate funds to address the phenomenon. This best-evidence synthesis analysis examines empirical studies from 1984 to 2004 that likely informed these changes. Based on a predetermined set of criteria, databases and search terms, nine studies were examined. Although all of the indicated measures of disproportionality among minority students, further analysis shows weaknesses in the validity of the methods and data used in the study. Most in this analysis failed to account for academic achievement, as well as used descriptive statistics to imply casual inference. Additionally, the researchers state a need for further research and most of the studies do not suggest measures driven at simply reducing disproportionality and minority overrepresentation—which is the basis of the 2004 amendments. . As such, the available research about disproportionality was not comprehensive and led to amendments that did not address the gaps in the field.
