In the article Disproportionality: The Disproportionate Representation of Racial and Ethnic Minorities in Special Education, the author speaks from a stand point based on the idea that ethnic and racial minorities are not properly being represented in special education programs in schools. The author uses many references to different educational bills that are for the protection on minority and special education groups to frame her argument that many times minorities are grouped into the wrong category of need. She states “Once students and their special needs are properly identified, special education services must provide the supports needed by students with disabilities to reach their developmental, academic, and social outcomes that will give them greater opportunities to return to mainstream classrooms.” this statement is documented as law under IDEA, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. It states that all children are guaranteed a appropriate education based on their needs. The problem that the author brings up is that these children are not having “their special needs are properly identified,” which then leads them to having less chance of success in the future.
Throughout the article the evidence is presented as very cut and dry, students, specificity racial and ethnic minorities are not being properly assed for special needs. The author however lacks in the evidence supporting the argument. She brings up different examples of hypothetical situations i.e. :“For example, suppose that a Hispanic child has been classified as mentally retarded (MR). However, the decision for the classification did not adequately consider language differences, the student's culture or the instructional practices.” This is a well delivered example for the author's purpose in stating minorities are not getting the needed placement evaluation, however I feel that the author doesn’t adequately address the argument from what process is being used to evaluate these students.
The article backs up the main objective of the argument by using an aggressive tone to make her point. The author uses a chart based on the percentage of student demographics per race to illustrate the stratification of race and special education. I feel this chart is useful to show there is differences in race and special education, however the statistics can be miss leading. There is not enough information on how the numbers were derived. The chart also lacks sufficient labeling to be interpret objectively. The author also does not follow the chart with information regarding how this information relates to her argument. The statement “Although students from other racial and ethnic groups are overrepresented to some extent, the national data from the 22nd Annual Report to Congress pinpoint the magnitude of the problem for African American children and youth with disabilities.” is the only correlation that is made to the graphical data, which I believe is loosely related to the argument.
The realization that there is disproportionality with ethnic and racial minorities has been documented in many schools and several districts throughout the nation. This article does help shed light on the different aspects that many influence this problem, but lacks the credibility needed to draw meaningful conclusions. The author seem to be addressing the educational community as her audience. She seems to make the assumption that this problem is understood by her audience and the underlying circumstances. This assumption that the author draws leaves the audience I feel with inadequate information on the current state of the process and only a broad outline on who to possible alleviate the problem.
This is interesting. I wonder if some of the rhetorical features of this authors argument are related to her audience (educators). She might be assuming her audience is "with her" and therefore doesn't need a lot of background or contextual information? Does she provide citations for some of her claims?
ReplyDeleteI was curious as to what you felt the authors overall purpose is. It seems to me that she's arguing, or at least providing evidence for the idea, that minorities are over-represented in special education classrooms. This begs a number of related questions that you identify. What assessment procedures are being used? How are the categories of need even defined? And what needs to be done to change this situation, assuming (personally, I would probably assume) that it needs to be changed.
I'm reminded of an article I read from Mike Rose, in which he discussed how a fully articulate student had been labeled mentally retarded and sent to his special education classroom. Rose goes on to argue that the standardized test used to place this student relies on a "cultural code" that his student simply didn't have access to. There's a lot of evidence for this type of argument. One of the best predictors for ACT/SAT scores is parent income.
I'm looking forward to seeing how your research progresses.