Special Education Gap

It is abundantly clear, after reading this article, that minorities students are overrepresented in special education classrooms. One point that really stuck out for me from this article was how students are placed in special programs and provided with special services because of their results on early elementary testing. “Diverse learners are more likely to be referred for additional testing and placement in special education programs because achievement tests typically do not assess literacy skills that they may have acquired outside school, and these skills often differ from the ones these children are expected to have when they enter school” (pg. 2). As educators

The data is compared to those students come from affluent socioeconomic status and backgrounds. The data is sourced from several diverse locations in order to give the broadest view of the disparities that exist. Howard (2010) compares data in reading, mathematics, SAT results and disciplinary rates. This data is a formidable beginning to the content of the book because it provides context for the reader to better understand the achievement gap.

The achievement gap is defined as the disparity between the performance groups of students, especially groups defined by gender, race/ethnicity, ability and socio-economic status. The achievement gap can be observed through a variety of measures including standardized test scores, grade point averages, drop out rates, college enrollment and completion rates. The Black-White achievement gap is a critical issue in modern society’s education system. Although data surrounding the issue clearly indicates that the racial performance gap exists in areas of standardized tests, graduation rates, dropout rates, and enrollment in continuing education, the causative reasons for the gap are ambiguous—therefore presenting a significant challenge in

The “achievement gap” in education refers to the disparity in academic performance between groups of students. The achievement gap is shown in grades, standardized-test scores, course selection, dropout rates, among other success measures. It’s most often used to describe the troubling performance gaps between African-American and latino students, towards the lower end of the performance scale, compared to their white peers, and the similar academic differences between students from low-income families and those who are privileged. In the past decade, scholars and policy makers began focusing their attention on other achievement gaps, such as those based on sex, English language and learning disabilities.

The data provided shows that an overrepresentation of minority students exists in special education. One of the main reasons for this overrepresentation has to do with the variation of studies on this topic. Differences have been noted in

The problem of disproportionate numbers of minority students in special education can be attributed to a report by Lloyd Dunn in 1968 (as cited in Skiba et al., 2008) even though discrimination was evident long before that in America. The phenomenon of disproportionality as it relates to students from minority backgrounds being placed in special education refers to the percentage of students receiving services being a higher rate than is expected or that differs significantly from other races. Skiba et al. (2008) discuss the history of various aspects of the civil rights movement as they pertain to the issue of disproportionality of students from minority backgrounds in special education, the measurement tools used to determine the need for special education, the current status of disproportionality, and what factors have contributed to the discrepancies in numbers. Finally, recommendations are offered by the authors on how the existence of disproportionality of students from a minority background can be rectified.

In 1997, the United States Department of Education stated that disproportionate representation in special education is a problem, predominately affecting African American boys. The Individuals with Disabilities

Disproportionality, in special education, is the overrepresentation or under-representation of a particular population or demographic group relative to their presence in the overall student population (Ralabate, & Klotz, 2007). There are many factors thought to contribute to disproportionality: cultural differences, lack of appropriate assessment strategies, socioeconomic status, race, and gender (Kanaitsa, 2010).

In American education, there is overwhelming evidence that there is an achievement gap between groups of students. In other words, there are measurable differences in the educations and test scores of different groups of students. Some gaps exist between groups or differing gender or socioeconomic status, but the largest gaps exist between groups of different races. America has always been a country with an influx of different cultures through immigration. In schools, these cultures still remain separated. The most noticeable separation is probably that of White and African American students. Although the achievement gap between White and Black students is easily seen there are other clear gaps in the education of Latino and Asian American

According to Kunjufu (2005) “could the reason for the high placement rate of African American males in special education be that African American male teachers count for only 1 percent of all teachers in public schools” (Introduction, para 4)? Kunjufu (2005) emphasized that “African American males make up only 8 percent of the public school student population but constitute almost 30 percent of the students placed in special education” (Introduction, para 7). Kunjufu (2005) added that “the field of special education was never designed to be a dumping ground for African American students, particularly males” (Introduction, para 9). The major reason for the disproportionate number of African American boys placed in special education is because of the public educational system not being culturally competent to meet the needs of this unique population (Kunjufu, 2005). There are other reasons for the disproportionate number of African American boys placed in special education programs, such as placement and testing procedures, parent and teaching training problems, economic factors, and the failure of schools to educate African American boys adequately (Herrera,

Harry, B., & Klingner, J. K. (2006). Why are so many minority students in special education?: Understanding Race & Disability in Schools. New York, NY: Teachers College Press.

The purpose of the article’s introduction is to highlight the challenges that students from minority go through in special education schools. Linking his personal experiences as a former special educator, Connor strives to explore the intersection of learning disability, race, and class. The author collected data by conducting interviews with a participant researcher to get his side of the story. Connor planned to compare his LDs experiences with his own.

One of the leading causes of disproportionate identification in special education is the school and teachers themselves. Minority students are more likely to attend urban, inner city schools where many of the teachers are not as experienced when dealing with racially and ethnically diverse classrooms (Donovan & Cross, 2002). Thus, these low-income schools are not going to offer advanced classes or top-notch special education

Interest in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) is thinning for women as they progress into higher levels. Women in grades 7-12 were surveyed to see if their interest in STEM fields were diminishing. According to Van Leuvan, this survey showed that there was a decline in interest as these girls progress through high school. Throughout middle school and junior high a love for mathematics can be developed. However, a loss of interest is present as soon as girls hit more demanding classes like calculus. Grades will highly diminished and a fear for comprehension of mathematics in the future will develope. According to the article “Women and Minorities in Engineering” a major outlook on success from students is their ability to understand calculus.

The education gaps serve as the bare life expectations that predict the severe issues for our society as a whole. In the United States we all share a nationwide vision that each person should have equal opportunity for growth and success living in the U.S. Pursuing this vision for each person is first found by each student starting off fair and equally. Now days in our society we hope and predict most students to graduate high school and already be prepared to enter college and or start a career. In order to start a career after high school and attend college you need to depend on a strong standing foundation including great skills with communication, hard work, science, math, reading and literature, problem solving ideas and much more. Sadly, the many students that get a lack of a good start from early on as children find it very difficult to reach and secure these known goals. The most important foundation we know starts back at the very beginning from birth and continues throughout every developmental stage. The students that start trailing behind at the start of school will most likely see obstacles and disadvantages early on that will be seen continually throughout school and also probably their developed lives.