Table Of ContentNot on my Roster
Alexander J. DeNoble
Kathleen A. DeNoble
Carol N. Fleres
Andrew A. McCabe
An Article Published in
TEACHING Exceptional Children Plus
Volume 3, Issue 3, January 2007
Copyright © 2007 by the author. This work is licensed to the public under the Creative Commons
Attribution License.
Not on my Roster
Alexander J. DeNoble
Kathleen A. DeNoble
Carol N. Fleres
Andrew A. McCabe
Abstract
Special education programs for low achievers may not always be the right choice. Early
identification and intervention could significantly reduce overdependence on special edu-
cation. The authors reviewed pertinent literature related to the benefits of referral and
placement in special education settings, and proposed strategies that would help low
achieving, diverse students perform satisfactorily in the regular education environment.
Meeting the challenge of addressing the academic and emotional needs of these students
requires a real working partnership between regular education and special education. The
keystone for completing the arch between the two must be provided by administrators
who establish teacher training programs specifically designed to provide the knowledge,
skills, and abilities to ensure program success
Keywords
referral, special education and general education partnership, reading failure, student
placement
SUGGESTED CITATION:
DeNoble, A.J., DeNoble, K.A., Fleres, C.N., & McCabe, A.A. (2007). Not on my roster.
TEACHING Exceptional Children Plus, 3(3) Article 2. Retrieved [date] from
http://escholarship.bc.edu/education/tecplus/vol3/iss3/art2
This paper is about the children who are enhance their teaching methods and strategies
in special education programs that are not so that all students can have their educational
meeting their individual needs. For decades, needs addressed in the classroom. In doing so,
educators have been failing to address key the need for referring low-income, African-
issues for success. School becomes so stress- American, and Hispanic students for special
ful for these children that they begin to men- education services or remediation programs
tally drop out by the late elementary years, could be reduced. However, many general
and, sadly, sometimes even as early as first or educators do not accept ownership for the
second grade. By the time they reach high challenge of educating children who require
school they have become “unmotivated” and alternative learning methods and strategies. It
“unwilling” learners who physically drop out may be due to the fact that some teachers do
of school. At best they are soon forgotten. At not vary their teaching styles, thereby causing
worst, the school is happy to see them go. many children to be placed in remedial or
The Washington Post rated most schools special education programs. It is also sus-
as failures with regard to their handling of pected that many general education teachers
these children (Kelly, 2001). One example do not know how to vary their styles to meet
that denotes failure on the part of educators is the students’ needs.
their need to use the special education pro- One strategy teachers can implement in
gram, especially self-contained classes, to order to ensure that their teaching styles will
remove “lower achiever” learners so they do not be a deterrent in classrooms that are more
not disrupt the learners who are perceived to student-centered than teacher-centered is to
be “good” learners. On the other hand, re- review their individual style, that is, to know
searchers from the Center on English Learn- oneself. They should be able to reflect on
ing and Achievement at the State University their personal qualities and abilities so that
of New York at Albany (1998) found strong they may be open to others. This does not oc-
evidence that early instruction with effective cur with ease if teachers do not believe all
teachers can bring the scores of low achievers students can learn. Learning takes place in a
up beyond that of peers in more typical class- student-centered classroom when teachers
rooms. Hence, if educators took this research permit students to develop their own learning
finding and applied it in their teaching ap- styles. This can take place by incorporating
proach, then, perhaps, the need for special Howard Gardner’s Multiple Intelligences in
education or remedial programs wouldn’t be the curriculum (Mastropieri & Scruggs, 2004;
as rampant as it is today. Werts, Culatta, & Tompkins, 2007). His phi-
As reported in the Fordham Report losophy on teaching and learning allows the
(2006), the 2005 National Assessment of students to address the lessons in an atmos-
Educational Progress (NAEP) indicated that phere that is free of biases. Teachers should
in reading, mathematics, and science low- also implement Bloom’s Taxonomy of the
income, African-American, and Hispanic stu- Cognitive Domain (Huitt, 2004) as a method
dents did very poorly on standardized tests. In to address the many academic stages that en-
fact, due to their test results, most states compass a lesson. According to DeNoble
achieved a D ranking for these students, com- (1998), Gregorc, Butler, and Dunn and Dunn
pared to a B ranking for white students. are examples of outstanding researchers in the
Teachers need to be aware of these results and field of learning styles. If educators were
willing to do relevant research, and then put the administrators explained that remedies
into action the aforementioned strategies, were outside the realm of the school, and they
then, in all likelihood, the number of referrals offered little in the way of leadership for
for special education or remediation would be changing the role of general education with
reduced. respect to meeting the needs of children at
Special education instructors and sup- risk. Thus, the system both protects and per-
port personnel can assist their regular educa- petuates itself.
tion colleagues by sharing pertinent pupil in- Some strategies for enhancing students’
formation, and collaborating on the imple- motivation include the following:
•
mentation of proper strategies and lessons Praise and encourage students to suc-
designed to meet the needs of pupils with ceed.
•
educational disabilities. Some questions that No answer is a poor or incorrect an-
general education teachers might ask them- swer.
•
selves in preparing their lesson plans are as Show students respect.
•
follows: Hold high expectations for all stu-
•
Do I know the learning style of every dents.
•
student in this class? Avoid negative comments and sar-
•
If not, how can I find out this informa- casm.
•
tion? Offer extra help whenever needed.
• •
How do my lesson plans reflect my Take an interest in students’ lives.
•
knowledge of how my students learn? Allow students to have input into the
Teachers who do accept the challenge of types of instructional materials used,
educating lower achievers are often frustrated methods of learning, and scheduling.
•
due to their students’ inability to immediately Have a student-centered classroom.
•
grasp learning concepts. In addition, these Allow alternative methods of instruc-
teachers often lack the essential resources tion and learning through the use of
and/or time necessary to address the educa- technology, games, group work, and
tional needs of this population. Without a simulations.
•
school-wide approach to positive behavior Allow various learning methods to be
management, innovative instructional strate- a part of the learning process such as
gies, and other classroom supports, poten- cooperative learning and the use of
tially first-rate teachers are often persuaded various technologies into the class-
by their colleagues, and even by their leaders, room.
•
into believing that such children are beyond Utilize various alternative means of
the school’s capacity to motivate them to assessment other than paper and pen-
learn. cil, such as: portfolio, oral presenta-
Therefore, it was not surprising that tion, and group presentation.
Allington, McGill-Franzen, and Schick
(1997) revealed that administrators from six The Use of Derogatory Names
school districts reported increasing transi- We have all known “educators” who
tional grade placements and increasing rates develop derogatory names for the lower
of identification of students with disabilities. achievers. We’ve all heard them and don’t
When asked about the rising tide of referrals, need to see them in print. They are insulting
and unprofessional. Such statements generally developmentally by the end of kindergarten.
go uncensored in the faculty room by col- He added that poor children develop more
leagues and administrators. Some educators complex language and math concepts at a
believe that all children would learn if only slower rate than do those from middle class
they were willing to take the opportunity that families. Since it doesn’t take much time for
the school system afforded them. If only it there to be a significant deficiency in a pupil’s
were that simple to educate all children! The ability to read, this deficit may be used as one
insensitivity and disinterest of such educators of the criteria for eligibility for special educa-
can only lead to failure for those lacking in tion and related services.
academic abilities, or insight into the impor- To address these issues and work toward
tance of education. Many of the students, who providing a level playing field, the following
are referred to pejoratively, often make up the should be considered:
•
lower achiever population, are children of Provide after school and/or summer
color, culturally/linguistically diverse, and programs at the K-3 level designed to
from low socioeconomic status. They are the bridge the development gap that poor
children whose families are relatively power- children are experiencing, and, in do-
less in a system that is more politically moti- ing so, also provide programs that will
vated than it cares to admit. Payne (1998) allow poor children to develop the
suggested that this culture extends well be- knowledge, skills and abilities to work
yond socioeconomic status. Children of color effectively with complex reading and
and children who come from the culture of math tasks on a level consistent with
poverty are seen as inferior learners, and the their chronological age.
•
predictions of their uninformed caretakers at Peer tutoring, where students experi-
school serve as self-fulfilling prophecies of encing problems in math or reading
failure. are assigned to work with students
who are achieving on a level lower
Reading and Failure than theirs might also be considered.
When young children fail at reading, A slow academic start should not be the
they are on the path to failure across all first step toward special education placement.
grades. Poor culturally and linguistically di- Instead, it should lead to accelerated learning
verse children come to school lacking critical programs through the conduit of general edu-
skills necessary for learning how to read. cation. 95% of students with severe reading
These skills include adequate vocabulary, problems can be helped to reach the national
ability to hear and manipulate sounds in spo- average. It therefore makes sense to try to ac-
ken language, and general information about celerate their progress rather than to assume
the world. These children are on their way to inherent disability (”Reading difficulties vs.
special education before they set foot into learning disabilities”, 1997). In a report de-
school. Citing government statistics in an ar- veloped at West Virginia University (2005),
ticle in the January 14, 2001 issue of the San the following strategies for teaching students
Francisco Chronicle, Bruce Fuller, professor with learning disabilities were revealed:
•
of education and public policy at the Univer- Announce readings as well as assign-
sity of California at Berkeley, revealed that ments well in advance.
children of the poor are nine months delayed
•
Introduce simulations to make abstract gress. However, this is not the total picture.
content more concrete. Children are also referred on the basis of how
•
Offer to read written material aloud. likely a child’s teacher is to make referrals to
•
Review relevant material, preview the special education. Perceived misbehavior,
material to be presented, present the family mobility, and tardiness are also critical
new material, then summarize the ma- indicators in the process. Add to this the fact
terial just presented. that most of the referrals come from very few
•
Encourage students to practice using teachers; Gottlieb and Weinberg found that
technical words in exchanges among one-eighth of the teachers made two-thirds of
peers. all of the referrals. Their statistical evidence
•
Allow students to use a tape recorder. is consistent with the authors’ empirical find-
•
Spend more time on building back- ings through years of administration of spe-
ground for the reading selections and cial education programs. Indeed, chance
creating a mental scheme for the or- placement in a typical class with a teacher
ganization of the text. (p. 18-19) who is, or is not, tolerant of a child’s per-
Another group of researchers estimated formance and behavior determines, to a large
that the number of children who are known to extent, whether or not a child will be placed
be poor readers, those served by special edu- in special education. Children of similar aca-
cation, compensatory education, and those not demic and behavioral profiles to the ones re-
served, could be reduced by 70% with early ferred often remain in typical classes, while
identification and prevention (Lyon et al., those who are seen as misbehaving are re-
2001). This substantial reduction could be ferred to special education.
realized by Michael Ladner, Policy Director for
•
Providing preschool assessment and Children First America, testified on October
reading programs in poor neighbor- 4, 2001 before the Congressional Committee
hoods for children starting at age on Education and the Workforce with regard
three. to racial bias in special education placements
•
Providing year round enrichment pro- (Ladner & Hammons, 2001). He noted that
grams for students identified at age schools in which the majority of students and
three as being “high risk” for future teachers are White place disproportionately
reading problems. high numbers of minority children into spe-
•
Providing assessment programs in cial education. Ladner further testified that his
grades K-8, at the beginning and end research showed that African-American stu-
of each academic year, that would dents are placed into special education at a
provide important reading and math higher rate than any other racial group. His
skill information for identification and statistics showed that, in predominantly
planning. White districts (60% White or more), almost
one in four African-American students were
Reasons for Referral placed in special education. It is, therefore,
Gottlieb and Weinberg (1999) compared not surprising that it was reported in the ex-
students who were referred, or not referred, ecutive summary of a Harvard University
for special education, and found that children Conference on Minority Issues in Special
were referred based on poor academic pro- Education (Lee & Burkham, 2001) that, using
statistics from 1997, African-American chil- 4. Believe in their abilities to make a
dren were almost three times more likely to difference and convince their students
be labeled “mentally retarded” as compared that they will learn.
to Whites and other minorities. In fact, Lad- 5. Maximize the use of classroom time to
ner and Hammons concluded that teach students what they need to know.
We simply have no way to know what 6. Utilize management and grouping
the special education rate “should be” plans that reflect students’ learning
in any district or any state. What we do styles.
know is this: Race plays a powerful 7. Use a variety of assessment tech-
role in the placement of children in niques, especially performance-based
special education…. The results dem- measures that are sensitive to students’
onstrate conclusively that school dis- cultural and linguistic backgrounds.
tricts do not make special education (p.9)
placements in a color-blind fashion. Furthermore, Blair suggested that in order for
(p.108) teachers to fully understand culturally and
Additionally, according to Chamberlain linguistically diverse students’ academic
(2005), the two basic educational reasons for abilities the following assessment measure-
the overrepresentation in special education of ments would be helpful:
•
culturally and linguistically diverse students Classroom observation
•
are as follows: Observation checklists
•
1. General education teachers lack the Projects
•
ability to discern between undera- Logs and journals
•
chievement due to disability (e.g., in- Cooperative works
•
formation processing deficits seen with Self-assessment
•
learning disability (LD) and undera- Interest inventories
•
chievement due to other reasons (e.g., Daily assignments
•
learning English as a second language Anecdotal records
•
culture clashes that lead to low expec- Criterion-referenced tests
•
tations by teachers.) Norm-referenced tests
•
2. Educational diagnosticians are unable Graded paragraph inventories
•
to make the same distinction within the Student portfolios
•
context of comprehensive assessment. Performance samples (p. 66)
(p.297) Intelligence testing is often interpreted
Teachers can motivate students by imple- inappropriately in a way that is not in the in-
menting Blair’s (2003) seven principles of terest of culturally diverse students (Lyon et
instruction: al., 2001), that is, a handful of teachers make
1. Learn about and show sensitivity to the the majority of referrals in a given school
cultural backgrounds of their students. (Gottlieb & Weinberg, 1999). The procedures
2. Provide academic, interactive instruc- for placement into special education lack clar-
tion based on student backgrounds and ity and objectivity (Lyon et al.), and the per-
needs. centage of students classified varies from dis-
3. Cultivate student feelings and encour- trict to district revealing the lack of objectiv-
age parent involvement.
ity involved in the process (Ladner & Ham- case of mathematics, the picture was similar:
mons, 2001). a passing rate of 3.5% where the socioeco-
It is clear that almost any child has the nomic need is greatest and a much higher
potential for placement in special education. 27.5% rate of passing where socioeconomic
Those whose race or culture differs from that need is lowest. The U.S. Department of Edu-
of the faculty are those most likely to be seen cation in its 2002 report on the National As-
as deviant in some way or lacking in ability. sessment of Educational Progress revealed
One would be hard pressed not to realize that that students in high poverty public schools
something, other than academic abilities, is achieved at a lower rate in 4th grade mathe-
also affecting placement into special educa- matics than students in the wealthier public
tion. schools.
Thus, in addition to the inability to meet In the year 2000, the National Assess-
appropriate grade level challenges, an effec- ment of Educational Programs (U.S. Depart-
tive teacher must also be aware that ment of Education) tested 8,000 fourth grad-
•
Understanding cultural issues which ers across the United States in reading and
can affect academic and behavioral reported in The Nation’s Report Card that
patterns is critical, especially in work- 60% of poor children (those receiving Title I
ing with poor children. funds) were unable to understand what they
•
Especially in working with boys, a read. Meanwhile, the high achieving students
working knowledge of ADD and were achieving at even higher levels than
ADHD in terms of identification and when previously tested, while the scores of
remediation procedures is very impor- low achieving students’ scores were decreas-
tant. The boy to girl ratio for ADD and ing. Unfortunately, according to the U.S. De-
ADHD is 4 or 5 to 1. partment of Education’s report for the year
•
Skill and performance deficits often 2002, the gap in achievement between low
translate into behavioral issues. socioeconomic children and their more afflu-
Knowing how to identify and remedi- ent peers is widening. In the 1970’s and mid
ate these deficits is critical for both 80’s the gap in K-12 reading and mathematics
regular and special education teachers. achievement between African-American and
White students was narrowing. Since then the
Assessment and Placement gap has remained the same or widened.
Gottlieb (2001) reviewed the scores of Some suggestions for bridging the gap
special education students for the year 2000 are noted earlier and relate to early identifica-
on statewide tests for the 8th grade in English/ tion and intervention programs, as well as
Language Arts and Mathematics in New York pre- and post-testing for lower socio-
State. He found a marked difference in the economic students in reading and math in
scores between districts along socioeconomic grades K-8. These strategies provide sound
lines. Children enrolled in special education training programs for teachers that will give
programs in the districts with the greatest so- them the knowledge and skills needed to
cioeconomic need averaged 3.7% passing rate identify and remediate academic problems.
for English/ Language Arts, while those in the As suggested by Ferguson in the Harvard
lowest need (the wealthier) districts averaged Education Letter (2006), teachers and stu-
a much higher 22.7% rate for passing. In the dents need to take a look at what students are
not achieving and why. This team approach learning and thereby implements ways to ac-
would allow them to develop methods that are celerate the learning process for those who
conducive to the students’ learning styles and come to school without the experiential back-
abilities so that they could achieve the goals ground, knowledge, and skills needed to suc-
of the curriculum. Although this process ceed. Continuous and expansive professional
could be a challenge to the general lifestyle of and staff development in line with teacher
the classroom environment, it is a means to interests and needs are not luxuries, but rather
developing teacher-student relationships that the bread of life for schools and for all of the
promote student achievement. children they serve. The implementation of
programs to address the unresolved issues of
Relationships learning challenged students both in affluent
As the culture of the staff and the child’s and lower socioeconomic districts has the
culture clash, the fragile self-esteem of the power to bring about miraculous and much
young child can be eroded. When social in- needed change.
teraction is limited by misunderstandings, All general educators must take greater
which may or may not go unspoken, but responsibility for the children who find it dif-
which are keenly felt, learning is compro- ficult to learn. There are general educators
mised. Learning flourishes in communities, who have taken the lead, and they should be
which facilitate growth through meaningful applauded. Carter (1999) interviewed one
experiences and healthy discourse. hundred principals in effective high poverty
Payne (1998) suggested that the key to schools with predominantly African-
the achievement of poor children is in rela- American and Hispanic youths, and con-
tionships. Relationship-making is especially cluded that achievement was the key to avoid-
important to people whose beliefs and values ing the discipline problems that we hear about
align with the culture of poverty, so it is es- all too often. He found that achievement,
sential in reaching the children and their fami- taken together with self-control, self-reliance,
lies. Lee and Burkham (2001) found that the and self-discipline, were powerful factors in
structure and organization of the high school the students’ successes. Nonetheless, there
influences students when they make the deci- remain too many teachers and administrators,
sion to drop out of school. Their most signifi- like the administrators interviewed by Alling-
cant finding was that students who perceive ton, McGill-Franzen and Schick (1997), who
positive relationships with their teachers are blame the children, their parents, and other
less likely to drop out of high school, despite agencies for the ills of the school.
the student’s background or the demographics There can be no place for “finger point-
of the school. Positive school relationships, ing” or self deprecation. Leadership includes
explicit teaching of social behaviors, and creating a vision of excellence for all chil-
formal language can allow students who are dren. Clearly, there is a conflict between the
poor to compete with students who are eco- culture of many schools and the culture of
nomically privileged on equal footing. students who appear differently in terms of
race and socioeconomic status. This conflict
Conclusions is at the heart of the low achievement of
There is no substitute for an effective African-American, Native American, and
teacher, one who engages in learning about Hispanic children in school, and their over-
representation in special education and/or re- diverse students. Interventions in School
medial programs. and Clinic, 40 (2), 195-211.
Schools need to create communities of
learners that do not exclude, but welcome all DeNoble, K. (1998). Changing teachers’ atti-
children. Staff should be trained in what tudes regarding inclusion of students
Payne (1998) called the “hidden rules” of the with educational disabilities (Doctoral
culture of poverty, so they understand the dissertation, NOVA Southeastern Uni-
values and beliefs that drive feelings and be- versity, 1998). Dissertation Abstracts
havior. Students will thrive in schools that International.
have an environment which facilitates teach-
ing that builds upon and shows respect for Fuller, B. (2001, January 14). Ready they’re
individual talents. In addition, teachers must not-school reform is hot. But what good
help students to develop healthy self confi- is it to have children who are behind
dence by encouraging independent thinking. before they even begin? San Francisco
Chronicle. Retrieved July, 2002 from
http://www.sfgate.com
Gottlieb, J. (2001, April). Are we headed in
the right direction? Paper presented at
the meeting of the New York State As-
sociation of Special Education, Council
of Administrators of Special Education,
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and classroom culture affect black-white
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from http://www.noexcuses.org http://www.edletter.org/current/ferguson
.shtml
Chamberlain, S.P. (2005). Reorganizing and
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