Who’s Teaching Math to Our Most Needy Students? A Descriptive Study

Abstract

The No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) mandates that every classroom be staffed with a “highly qualified teacher.” Research supports that teachers’ content knowledge affects student achievement. However, the special education population continues to be taught by teachers who do not have the content area background they teach. In addition, accountability reports indicate that the special education population did not meet the adequate yearly progress in reading and mathematics as required under NCLB. The purpose of this study is to determine the mathematical background, beliefs, and perceptions of future intervention specialists. Results of this study indicate a disconnect between the participants’ beliefs and perceptions of their ability to provide math instruction and their limited mathematical background as measured by mathematical courses completed at the undergraduate level and by the Ohio Achievement Test—Practice Eighth Grade Mathematics.