Special Education Referrals as an Index of Teacher Tolerance: Are Teachers Imperfect Tests?

Abstract

The academic performances and naturally occurring characteristics of students referred by regular education classroom teachers for possible placement in special education programs were examined. Curriculum Based Assessment procedures were used with 570 grade 2 through 6 students referred because of reading difficulties. Teacher bias was examined by comparing the reading performances of referred students as a function of their sex and ethnicity and by comparing the percentages of students to the base rate population of low reading performers. Teacher accuracy was investigated using “narrow band” or “broad band” definitions. Findings indicated that teachers are both accurate and biased in the referral process. The implications of the findings are discussed in relationship to current identification practices and to the suggestion that teachers be treated as tests in lieu of current practice.

What's Gender Got To Do With It? Teachers' Perceptions Of Situation Severity And Requests For Assistance

“…Much of this research has focused on the relationship between gender and perceptions of internalizing and externalizing behaviors, with the common finding that boys are significantly more likely to present with ''acting out'' behaviors (Achenbach, Howell, Quay, & Conners, 1991;Raffaele Mendez & Gale, 2002) and girls typically are believed to be more passive in the classroom and thus more likely to be overlooked by teachers (Sadker & Sadker, 1994). Other research has indicated that boys are significantly more likely to be labeled as pathological (Hornblower, 1998) and that boys with low reading scores are significantly more likely to be referred for special education than girls with low reading scores (Shinn, Tindal, & Spira, 1987). Vardill and Calvert (2000) examined new referrals over the course of a year and found that in all age groups, more boys than girls were referred for all categories of difficulty (e.g., learning, behavioral, emotional, speech and language) except for sensory impairment and physical or medical conditions.…”

Factors Associated with Admission to a Day School Treatment Program

“…According to Coutinho et al, this bias is especially evident in communities where the dominant race is Caucasian although it is somewhat less pronounced in poorer and mixed race communities. Studies suggest that White teachers are more likely to refer African American males for special education either because of negative expectations and over-interpretation of behaviors or because of expectations that minority students, especially African American males, are more difficult to teach (Bahr, Fuchs, Stecker, & Fuchs, 1991;Kelly, Bullock, & Dykes, 1977;Shinn, Tindal, & Spira, 1987;Watkins & Kurtz). Salend and Garrick Duhaney (2005), however, argue that it is more complicated than bias against students of color but that there are also significant biases in the types of data gathered and reported that support disproportionate representation.…”

Impact of the Good Behavior Game, a universal classroom-based behavior intervention, on young adult service use for problems with emotions, behavior, or drugs or alcohol

“…In fact, during the school years, the determination of need for services, followed by referral and use, quite often occurs as a result of poor social adaptation of children to the teacher's behavioral task demands (Gerber and Semmel, 1984;Horcutt, 1996;Lloyd et al, 1991;Mattison et al, 1986;Poduska, 2000;Shinn et al, 1987). Hocutt (1996) refers to the "teachability" of students when discussing factors that teachers consider when thinking about children's need for services.…”