The Role of Teacher–Student Ethnoracial Matching in Student Identification for Special Education Services

Book Review| Online January 01 1990 Vocational Evaluation in Special Education Vocational Evaluation in Special Education. Norman C. Hursh, ScD, and Allen F. Kerns, EdD ( 1988). College-Hill Press/Little, Brown & Company, Inc., 34 Beacon Street, Boston, MA 02108. 266 pp., $24.50. Dena B. Wald, OTR/L Dena B. Wald, OTR/L Search for other works by this author on: This Site PubMed Google Scholar Author & Article Information Online Issn: 1943-7676 Print Issn: 0272-9490 Copyright © 1990 by the American Occupational Therapy Association, Inc.1990 The American Journal of Occupational Therapy, 1990, Vol. 44(1), 86–87. https://doi.org/10.5014/ajot.44.1.86b Views Icon Views Article contents Figures & tables Video Audio Supplementary Data Peer Review Share Icon Share Facebook Twitter LinkedIn MailTo Tools Icon Tools Get Permissions Cite Icon Cite Search Site Citation Dena B. Wald; Vocational Evaluation in Special Education. Am J Occup Ther January 1990, Vol. 44(1), 86–87. doi: https://doi.org/10.5014/ajot.44.1.86b Download citation file: Ris (Zotero) Reference Manager EasyBib Bookends Mendeley Papers EndNote RefWorks BibTex toolbar search Search Dropdown Menu toolbar search search input Search input auto suggest filter your search All ContentThe American Journal of Occupational Therapy Search Advanced Search This content is only available via PDF. Copyright © 1990 by the American Occupational Therapy Association, Inc.1990 Article PDF first page preview Close Modal You do not currently have access to this content.

This paper discusses the importance of research and evaluation in special education and its impact on improving outcomes for individuals with disabilities. It explores common challenges in conducting research and evaluation in special education, such as access to participants, measurement and assessment, ethical considerations, limited resources, and generalizability. The paper also highlights emerging trends and innovative approaches in special education research and evaluation, including mixed methods research, technology-enhanced assessment and intervention, implementation science, and participatory research. Additionally, it offers recommendations for future research in special education, including longitudinal studies, intersectionality and inclusivity, teacher preparation and professional development, family engagement and involvement, transition and post-school outcomes, inclusive practices and environments, technology and assistive technology, culturally responsive practices, and policy and systems-level research. By addressing these areas, special education can continue to evolve and improve, leading to more equitable and effective educational experiences for individuals with disabilities.

Prevention Model Takes Off in Schools: A New Approach for Learning Disabilities

Program evaluation provides a powerful tool for meeting the formative and summative evaluation needs of school programs. Although a number of program evaluation approaches for special education programs have been cited in the literature, there is little evidence to show how far school districts have gone beyond compliance monitoring in their efforts to evaluate special education programs. This article presents the results of a national survey of 145 districts on the topic of program evaluation in special education to ascertain whether or not districts have taken a proactive, systematic approach to evaluating their special education programs. A number of features associated with program evaluation were explored, specifically, (a) preplanning, (b) who evaluates special education programs, (c) the focus of evaluation activities, (d) methods for obtaining evaluative information, (e) criteria for judging program effectiveness, and (f) the perceived benefits of the evaluation process.

A performance-based accounting system may be one answer to the growing challenge of appropriate and equitable teacher evaluation in special education. By incorporating the model described here, teacher evaluators can use their state-mandated system and meet the needs of special education teachers.

While disruptions to typical education, special education, and psycho-educational service delivery practices in response to the COVID-19 pandemic have dissipated, their impact magnified educational systems’ overreliance on evaluations to determine eligibility for special education and related services. Given that the potential for future disruptions is now ever-present, it is imperative that service providers learn from these recent experiences to improve typical policies, procedures, and practices under normal service delivery circumstances as well as to respond efficiently and effectively to any future disruptions, should they arise. To this end, this work presents several reminders and considerations for multidisciplinary teams related to assessment, testing, special education evaluations, and closely related processes exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The impact of the use of SOMPA Estimated Learning Potential (ELP) scores as a substitute for traditional IQ scores was examined as it affected students evaluated for special education in a large metropolitan school system. SOMPA is the System of Multicultural Pluralistic Assessment, an evaluation package developed by Jane Mercer (1979) to address concerns about bias in assessment of minority students and particularly to remove "unfair" labels of mental retardation. ELP scores represent IQ scores adjusted for the effects of sociocultural background and compared only to ethnic peer norms, with the general effect being to raise estimates of intellectual potential for minority students. ELP scores were mandated for use in Louisiana from 1978 to 1981. The present study examined their impact on the East Baton Rouge Parish special education system by addressing three major questions: (a) Did the use of ELP scores lower minority percentages in retardation categories, (b) Did ELP scores predict achievement and adjustment as well as IQ scores, and (c) Did students placed consistent with ELP scores perform as well as those placed consistent with IQ scores? Data was collected across six special education categories requiring consideration of IQ scores (including mental retardation). Dependent measures included achievement scores in reading and arithmetic and achievement/adjustment ratings by teachers. Results from a total of 2120 observations were consistent with predictions that minority percentage would not change but that students with "mildly retarded" IQ scores would be relabeled and shifted to other categories. ELP scores were found to be similar to IQ in predicting rank order of achievement scores but to significantly overestimate group performance. Students placed in categories consistent with ELP scores performed less well on achievement and adjustment measures than those placed consistent with IQ or with both scores. It was concluded that ELP scores served primarily to change category labels rather than declassify students, that ELP scores were inferior to IQ in predicting achievement, and that students placed consistent with ELP scores showed no evidence of realizing the "extra" potential in their new categories.

Assessment and evaluation in special education

The number of English language learners (ELLs) in early childhood regular and special education services has increased dramatically in the past decade. A survey was conducted with 141 early childhood administrators and teachers to examine their beliefs and practices concerning the special education referral, evaluation, and placement process for preschool ELLs and their families. Survey questions were designed to gather information about: 1) how cultural and language differences were addressed, 2) what strategies were used to ensure parent participation of ELL children, and 3) what training was available and being used by early childhood professionals. Data were coded and percentages of similar responses calculated to understand participants' beliefs, attitudes, and practices. Results indicate that inconsistencies in methods are used to determine home language and English proficiency, a lack of clarity regarding the purpose of instruments used for screening and evaluating ELL children, a need for reliable and valid screening and assessment tools in a variety of languages, a need for interpreters who are trained in early childhood terms and the special education referral, evaluation, and placement process, and a need for more teacher training on meeting the needs of culturally and linguistically diverse families.

Special Education Eligibility: When Is a Speech-Language Impairment Also a Disability?

Assessment is a very crucial term in special education process. In the modern era everything seeking scientific and systematic approach, Special education also needs updated tools because it provides valuable insights into a student's cognitive abilities. Effective special education relies on assessment, which is the foundation of modern education because it gives us key to understand what a child needs. Assessment and evaluation in special education is a process that involves collecting information about a student for the purpose of making decisions. Assessment, also known as evaluation, can be seen as a problem-solving process that involves many ways of collecting information about the student (Swanson & Watson, 1989) In special education, there are many professional advanced scales and tools from different platforms that help to support the social workers to determine the student learning, and these tools make the evaluation more accurate. The whole teaching methodology is based on the assessment. Thus efficient assessment can help for betterment of the student in more effective way. Disability present in a student if diagnosed properly it is nearly half the problem solved for the mentor to proceed with future academic progression.

Special education service provision depends upon referral for evaluation, corresponding evaluation procedures, and resulting eligibility decisions. However, how school districts and decision-makers (e.g., school psychologists) apply special education evaluation procedural rules is largely unknown. Through a survey of practicing school psychologists, the current study examined the most common special education referral concerns, multidisciplinary team (MDT) members’ roles in eligibility decision-making, the value of various assessment data sources in determining special education eligibility, and differences in those variables across participants’ years of experience, degree level, and geographic region. Participants reported that reading was the most common special education referral, school psychologists primarily made special education eligibility decisions with some input from other MDT members, and test scores were the most valued source of assessment data in determining special education eligibility. There were no reported differences in these variables across degree or US geographic region, but there were differences in reported perceptions of the most important sources of assessment data across years of experience. Implications for practice and future research are discussed.

According to Self-Determination Theory (SDT), motivation is inherently present in every individual, growing from amotivation via controlled to autonomous motivation, through fulfilment of the basic psychological needs for autonomy, competence and relatedness. Peer relatedness has been found to influence motivation multimodally. Students with social, emotional and behavioural difficulties (SEBD) in special education risk additional challenges in motivation and peer relations. How peer relations influence school motivation according to SEBD students' experiences remains unclear. Investigating how peer relations influence SEBD students' motivation in special secondary education. Forty-nine SEBD students (age 12-18) from 11 special secondary schools in the north of the Netherlands. Transcripts of semi-structured interviews from an SDT perspective were thematically analysed for particular information on peer relations and motivation. Students positively graded their motivation. Peer relations and students' motivation seemed to influence each other: (1) friends and classmates were salient reasons for school attendance; (2) peer relations influenced schoolwork motivation through relatedness, distraction, cooperation, engaging each other and being alone/loneliness. Consistent with previous findings, peer relations influence students' motivation in special secondary education. This influence seems reciprocal, additionally shaped by SEBD and a special education context. Feelings of (not) belonging in special education influenced school attendance and schoolwork motivation through different mechanisms, with which variations in motivational orientation, diagnosis and gender might interfere. Future research should investigate the influence of type of diagnosis, additional roles of competence and autonomy for SEBD students and possible generalizations of findings in other special and mainstream education settings.

Policy and program decisions involve choices among different ways of preparing teachers. These choices are shrouded in increasingly contentious debates as teacher shortages reach crisis proportions. Yet, research on special education teacher education is almost nonexistent. Findings from comparative research documenting the characteristics of effective teacher education programs can inform these choices, but these findings should be grounded in what we know from previous research in general teacher education. To assist educators, we have analyzed literature in general and special teacher education toward two ends. First, we present a framework, derived from work in general education, for analyzing teacher education programs. Second, we use this framework to analyze practice in teacher education in special education. Specifically, we conducted an exhaustive review of special education program descriptions and evaluations. We conclude by describing steps necessary to improve the special education teacher education research base.

We developed a set of computational tools specifically to guide qualified special education students back into general education. These tools include a decision tree to identify candidate students and elucidate successful placement in general education. Candidate students enter a process involving selection of general education classroom, data collection, and finally how to make the final transition out of special education self-contained placements. In the 2015-2016, we undertook a limited implementation of these transenvironmental programming tools and facilitated the transition of 10 of 20 identified candidate students from self-contained academic special education classrooms into general education placements. In the 2016-2017 school year, we extended this process to include 4 schools. 16 of 53 identified candidate students from self-contained academic special education classrooms were able to transition into general education placements. In an extension of the model district-wide, 9 of 26 identified students from behavior/SEL unit classrooms, and 9 of 9 identified students from Life Skills/SID unit classrooms were successfully transitioned into a general education with part-time special education placement. A high percentage of the remaining candidates received > 50% of their day in general education classrooms and/or were placed in less restrictive self-contained classrooms. Overall, 54% of identified candidate students were able to access a less restrictive environment as defined by IDEIA. Further, computational analyses using regression tree, unbiased hierarchal clustering, and support vector machine methods are presented to demonstrate the robustness of these methods by recapitulating the results using solely data from special education evaluations. Article visualizations: