children out of school in america - University of Tennessee Digital ...
children out of school in america - University of Tennessee Digital ... children out of school in america - University of Tennessee Digital ...
school operated by the school system were black. In five districts - Autauga County, Alabama, Montgomery, Alabama, Denver, Colorado, Davenport, Iowa, and Sumter County No.2, South Carolina-the probability that minority students would be in EMR classes was three times greater than the probability that white students would be in EMR classes. 63 In New Bedford, Massachusetts, in the two Census tracts we surveyed, 6.3 percent of the black children were in special education - almost twice as great as the percentage of Portuguese in special education (3.2 percent) and over four times greater than the percentage of white children in these classes (1.5 percent). In Springfield, Massachusetts, while school officials claim there is substantially less discrimination now against minorities in special education, they admit that in the past a lot of black children were railroaded into special education classes. 54 We will propose to OCR, upon release of this report, a statistical test for triggering a compliance review of racial disproportionality in school special education placement. We believe the burden should rest with school officials to explain such results rather than with parents or federal compliance officers to prove the existence of discrimination. 104 Bias in Tests When a child first shows signs of not understanding or keeping up with classwork, a complete diagnostic session is in order. Often symptoms like apathy or hyperactivity can be caused by problems that may be corrected without special placement. But such comprehensive diagnoses rarely are made. The placement decision is a virtually hidden process. Few of the districts we visited had anywhere near adequate diagnostic facilities or support personnel. For example, because of lack of resources in Montgomery, not all of the children in EMR classes have had physical examinations. The special education coordinator told us that although "... it may be our responsibility to require physicals, we can't require them because we can't provide them."66 Most districts have long waiting lists because of the lack of diagnostic personnel or suitable placement alternatives. The least expensive way to diagnose a child is to use group or individually administered standardized intelligence tests. These instrumeI;lts, however, have come under increasing attack, especially when they are the sole criterion on which classification is
ased. 56 They are modeled and normed on a generally white, middle-class population and are heavily reliant on verbal ability. Scores on many subtests of skills are averaged together to get an overall score. Thus, if a child is uncomfortable in the testing situation, does not respond exactly to the ways in which information is asked, has trouble with verbal ability, or is weak in some areas but not in others, chances are he will score poorly on standardized tests. How poorly he scores may determine his special class placement. Such gross measurement of children's potential may doom a child to be misclassilled and thereby not receive the specific attention to problems he or she needs. The problem of cultural bias in tests is particularly acute for children who have difficulty with the English language. Often their silence, inattentiveness or inability to fully participate in class is interpreted as slowness or retardation. One EMR teacher in Massachusetts described his own experience with three limited English-speaking children in his program. One child, Maria, spoke broken English but had "no problem." She was in a bilingual class and it is unclear how she ended up in the EMR program. She has been in the EMR program for four to five years. Roberto, a Portuguese child, has been in the program for two years. He is apathetic and will do the minimum to get by but is probably not retarded. Earlier in the year (1973-74) a Spanish-speaking 16 year old was placed into the class. The teacher was enraged because it was immediately evident that he was very bright. He read beautifully in Spanish. Poor performance on tests administered in English may confirm the hypothesis that special education is needed. The dearth of tests in other languages, or 03 Appendix N, Table I includes a breakdown for the 15 districts reporting to OCR in the fall of 1973 of the number of children, by race and ethnic group, enrolled in the various types of special education programs categorized by OCR. 54 Interview with Charles Brinkman, Director of Special Education, State Department of Education, Regional Education Center, Springfield, Massachusetts, 8115/73. 55 Interviews with Martha White, Special Education Coordinator, Montgomery, Alabama, 1/10/74 and 1/11/74. 56 The literature criticizing the use of IQ and other stand· ardized tests for labeling students is large. For a good discussion of cultural factors involved in assessing performance and competence see Michael Cole, et aI., The Cui IUral Context of Learning and Thinking (New York: Basic Books, 1971). trained bilingual personnel to administer and interpret them, compounds the problem. Our Haitian child Philippe faced just such errors simply because he spoke French, not English. Puerto Rican and Mexican-American children are disproportionately found to be diagnosed and placed in special education classes for the same reasons. 57 Jane Mercer's work shows that "white students typically must display both intellectual and behavior quirks to be considered for special classification while intellectual difficulties alone are sufficient to render black or Mexican-American students suspect."58 When retested in their own language, or when other criteria are added to test scores, a large percentage of these minority students are not found retarded and have returned to regular classes. 59 Despite these drawbacks, standardized tests continue to dominate assessment procedures. A Denver school board member says that while the principal, teacher, and social worker jointly make decisions about special education placement, "IQ is used as the basis for making the decision."60 Another Denver official disagrees: "We thought they were being abused so we make them, optional. A teacher can order an IQ test with the principal's approval."61 Because of the high percentage of black children in special education in Davenport, Iowa, some school officials have become aware of possible problems of cultural bias in the tests used. Purportedly they are less likely to place a black child with 73 IQ than a white child with 73 IQ in special education. One school official said, "There's an at- 57 See "A Descriptive Study of Three Legal Challenges for Placing Mexican-American and Other Linguistically and Culturally Different Children into Educably Mentally Retarded Classes," a dissertation presented by Henry I. Casso to the Graduate School of Education of the University of Massachusetts, March, 1973. 58 Mercer's work is summarized in an article hy David Kirp, William Buss, and Peter Kuriloff, "Legal Reform of Special Education," California Law Review, Vol. 62 (January) 1974, p. 45. For the consequences of such tests for minority people, particularly the non"English speaking, see Jane 'Mercer, Labeling the Mentally Retarded (Berkeley, California: University of California Press, 1973). 59 See results of Hobson v. Hansen, supra at 490-91, and examples in Mercer. 60 Interview with Mrs. Kay Schomp, Member, Board of Education, Denver, Colorado, 11/1/73. 61 Interview with Dr. Gerald P. Cavanaugh, Supervisor, Testing and Pupil Records, Denver, Colorado, 11/5/73. 105
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<strong>school</strong> operated by the <strong>school</strong> system were black. In<br />
five districts - Autauga County, Alabama, Montgomery,<br />
Alabama, Denver, Colorado, Davenport,<br />
Iowa, and Sumter County No.2, S<strong>out</strong>h Carol<strong>in</strong>a-the<br />
probability that m<strong>in</strong>ority students would be <strong>in</strong> EMR<br />
classes was three times greater than the probability<br />
that white students would be <strong>in</strong> EMR classes. 63<br />
In New Bedford, Massachusetts, <strong>in</strong> the two Census<br />
tracts we surveyed, 6.3 percent <strong>of</strong> the black <strong>children</strong><br />
were <strong>in</strong> special education - almost twice as great<br />
as the percentage <strong>of</strong> Portuguese <strong>in</strong> special education<br />
(3.2 percent) and over four times greater than the<br />
percentage <strong>of</strong> white <strong>children</strong> <strong>in</strong> these classes (1.5<br />
percent).<br />
In Spr<strong>in</strong>gfield, Massachusetts, while <strong>school</strong> <strong>of</strong>ficials<br />
claim there is substantially less discrim<strong>in</strong>ation<br />
now aga<strong>in</strong>st m<strong>in</strong>orities <strong>in</strong> special education, they<br />
admit that <strong>in</strong> the past a lot <strong>of</strong> black <strong>children</strong> were<br />
railroaded <strong>in</strong>to special education classes. 54<br />
We will propose to OCR, upon release <strong>of</strong> this report,<br />
a statistical test for trigger<strong>in</strong>g a compliance<br />
review <strong>of</strong> racial disproportionality <strong>in</strong> <strong>school</strong> special<br />
education placement. We believe the burden should<br />
rest with <strong>school</strong> <strong>of</strong>ficials to expla<strong>in</strong> such results<br />
rather than with parents or federal compliance<br />
<strong>of</strong>ficers to prove the existence <strong>of</strong> discrim<strong>in</strong>ation.<br />
104<br />
Bias <strong>in</strong> Tests<br />
When a child first shows signs <strong>of</strong> not understand<strong>in</strong>g<br />
or keep<strong>in</strong>g up with classwork, a complete diagnostic<br />
session is <strong>in</strong> order. Often symptoms like<br />
apathy or hyperactivity can be caused by problems<br />
that may be corrected with<strong>out</strong> special placement.<br />
But such comprehensive diagnoses rarely are made.<br />
The placement decision is a virtually hidden process.<br />
Few <strong>of</strong> the districts we visited had anywhere near<br />
adequate diagnostic facilities or support personnel.<br />
For example, because <strong>of</strong> lack <strong>of</strong> resources <strong>in</strong> Montgomery,<br />
not all <strong>of</strong> the <strong>children</strong> <strong>in</strong> EMR classes have<br />
had physical exam<strong>in</strong>ations. The special education<br />
coord<strong>in</strong>ator told us that although "... it may be our<br />
responsibility to require physicals, we can't require<br />
them because we can't provide them."66 Most districts<br />
have long wait<strong>in</strong>g lists because <strong>of</strong> the lack <strong>of</strong><br />
diagnostic personnel or suitable placement alternatives.<br />
The least expensive way to diagnose a child is to<br />
use group or <strong>in</strong>dividually adm<strong>in</strong>istered standardized<br />
<strong>in</strong>telligence tests. These <strong>in</strong>strumeI;lts, however, have<br />
come under <strong>in</strong>creas<strong>in</strong>g attack, especially when they<br />
are the sole criterion on which classification is
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