Please check

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Please check
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Todays topic

• Disproportionate Representation

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Quick questions or quandaries?
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Announcements

• Come prepared to present next week. Teams will be
  randomly selected to present six will present
  next week and six the following week.
• Dont forget to read the requirements in the
  syllabus CAREFULLY. Come to office hours if you
  have questions.
• Your INDIVIDUALLY written paper is due on October
  4. Papers are due at the start of class. Late
  papers will not be accepted.

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Setting the context

• In 2005, minorities made up 33 percent of the
  U.S. population. Hispanics were the largest
  minority group, representing 14 percent of the
  population, followed by Blacks (12 percent),
  Asians/Pacific Islanders (4 percent), and
  American Indians/Alaska Natives (1 percent).
  Minorities are predicted to represent 39 percent
  of the total population by the year 2020.

http//nces.ed.gov/pubs2007/minoritytrends/
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Setting the context, cont.

• On the 2005 National Assessment of Educational
  Progress (NAEP) reading assessment, higher
  percentages of Asian/Pacific Islander and White
  4th-graders and 8th-graders scored at or above
  Proficient than did American Indian/Alaska
  Native, Black, and Hispanic students at the same
  grade levels. On the 4th- and 8th-grade
  mathematics assessment, a higher proportion of
  Asians/Pacific Islanders scored at or above
  Proficient than did 4th- and 8th-graders of all
  other races/ethnicities shown.

http//nces.ed.gov/pubs2007/minoritytrends/
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Setting the context, cont.

• In 2003, a higher percentage of Black elementary
  and secondary students than elementary and
  secondary students of any other race/ethnicity
  shown had been suspended from school at some
  point. Additionally, a higher percentage of
  elementary and secondary Black students had been
  retained a grade or expelled than was the case
  for White, Hispanic, or Asian/Pacific Islander
  elementary and secondary students.

http//nces.ed.gov/pubs2007/minoritytrends/
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Setting the context, cont.

• In 2005, the percentage of 16- to 24-year-olds
  who were high school status dropouts was higher
  among Hispanics than among Blacks, Whites, and
  Asian/Pacific Islanders, and higher among Blacks
  and American Indian/Alaska Natives than among
  Whites and Asians/Pacific Islanders.

http//nces.ed.gov/pubs2007/minoritytrends/
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Setting the context, cont.

• In 2004, higher percentages of White, American
  Indian/Alaska Native, and Hispanic children ages
  12 to 17 reported that they had consumed alcohol
  in the past month than did Black and Asian
  children of the same ages. In addition, higher
  percentages of American Indian/Alaska Native and
  White children ages 12 to 17 reported smoking
  cigarettes or using marijuana in the past month
  than did 12- to 17-year-olds of any other
  race/ethnicity shown.

http//nces.ed.gov/pubs2007/minoritytrends/
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Disproportionate Representation

• Definition
• Either a higher or lower percentage of students
  from a particular ethnic group in special
  education than is found in the general student
  population.
• (Yates, 1998)

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Over-representation
Far too often, children of color are identified
for special education services in numbers out of
proportion to their numbers in the population.
What does that mean?
Losen, 2002, p. 45
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Under-representation

• What do you think this means?
• Does this ever happen?
• What ethnic groups do you think might be present
  in which special education categories less often
  than they should be, based on their presence in
  the general student population?

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Common Arguments

• Minority students are deliberately
  over-represented in Head Start. So why it is a
  problem if more that expected are in special
  education?
• Even if students dont really have a
  disability, they can get extra help through
  special education.

What's the problem here?
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Potential problems

• Potentially negative effects of stigmatizing
  labels on students,
• Restricted access to the general education
  settings, and
• Lack of consistent and conclusive evidence that
  special education programs are effective.

Hosp Reschly, 2003
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How do we figure out if disproportionate
representation is present?
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Percentage Difference

• If Native Americans make up 5 of the total
  student population, then we expect that Native
  Americans would make up 5 of
• Students in special education
• Students identified as gifted and talented
• Students identified with learning disabilities
• Students identified with behavior disorders
• Students identified with mental retardation

give or take 10
give or take 20
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Example of 10 difference criterion

• Native American students make up 5 of the total
  student population.
• 10 of 5 0.5
• Disproportionate representation would be when
  more than 5.5 or less than 4.5 of students in a
  given category are Native American.

4.5 ? 5.5
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Small Group Activity 1

• In small groups of 3-4, look at the data from the
  Office of Special Education Programs Annual
  Report to Congress (handouts on class web site)
  and determine
• What is the percent of each ethnicity in general
  student population of NM?
• What would be the range for the 10 and 20
  disproportionality criteria?
• Which disability categories for which ethnicities
  are disproportionate in NM?
• Which settings for which ethnicities are
  disproportionate in NM?

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Quick Write

• What did you learn from this activity? Did you
  have any reaction to the results? If so, what did
  you think/feel?

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Why is there disproportionate representation?
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It is also well established that children in
poor neighborhoods generally receive poor
schooling (Darling-Hammond Post, 2000).
Therefore, any investigation of the contributors
to low achievement or special education placement
must take into account the role of poor
schooling.
Harry, Klingner, Hart, 2005, p. 102
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Small Group Activity 2

• Consider the Harry, Klingner, and Hart (2005)
  reading in small groups and answer these
  questions
• What was the purpose of the research?
• What kind of data did they collect and how did
  they collect it?
• What did they find?
• What was the most important thing that you
  learned from this article?

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Whole Group Discussion

• Griego Jones and Fuller argued that pre-service
  teachers have negative beliefs about students
  from certain ethnic backgrounds. Harry, Klingner,
  and Hart described the terrible effects of
  stereotyping not only on family members but on
  their childrens educational outcomes (p. 111).
• Discuss whether you think that (1) teachers might
  hold negative stereotypes about certain groups
  and (2) if so, these might have an impact on how
  children from these groups are treated in schools.

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Looking ahead

• Team presentation on exceptionality categories.

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Please take a minute for the minute paper