Students were identified for special education after failing the promotion gate, not before taking it¶

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study (2 entries) · associational r2 · q2
Currency · newest study 2002 · not yet checked against its sources · not reviewed by a person · overdue for a recheck since 2005: local conditions change quickly

Subclaims¶

q2 i? First-time third, sixth, and eighth graders were no more likely to be classified eligible after the promotion policy than before, while identification of retained students jumped dramatically (third grade: 5.6 to 13.3 percent; sixth: 3.7 to 13.1; eighth: 1.7 to 4.2). → Shazia Rafiullah Miller and Robert M. Gladden 2002 q2 i? Identification of first-time gate-grade students showed no increase after the policy, supporting the interpretation that identification followed gate failure rather than preceding it. → Shazia Rafiullah Miller and Robert M. Gladden 2002 (2)

Evidence¶

Shazia Rafiullah Miller and Robert M. Gladden 2002¶

Shazia Rafiullah Miller and Robert M. Gladden. (2002). Changing Special Education Enrollments: Causes and Distribution Among Schools. Consortium on Chicago School Research. https://consortium.uchicago.edu/publications/changing-special-education-enrollments-causes-and-distribution-among-schools

q2 · i? · associational · r2

Comparative trend analysis of identification rates for first-time versus repeating gate-grade students (Figure 4). The report finds identification "after they were retained jumped dramatically" across third, sixth, and eighth grades between 1993–94 and 1999–00, partly due to Board encouragement to evaluate students retained twice or more.

"the percent of students identified as having a disabil-ity after they were retained jumped dramatically between the 1993–94 and 1999–00 school years—from 5.6 percent to 13.3 in third grade, from 3.7 to 13.1 in sixth, and from 1.7 to 4.2 in eighth"

Shazia Rafiullah Miller and Robert M. Gladden 2002 (2)¶

Shazia Rafiullah Miller and Robert M. Gladden. (2002). Changing Special Education Enrollments: Causes and Distribution Among Schools. Consortium on Chicago School Research. https://consortium.uchicago.edu/publications/changing-special-education-enrollments-causes-and-distribution-among-schools

q2 · i? · causal · r1

Analysis contrasting first-time gate-grade enrollees before and after the policy (Figure 4). The report concludes "Analysis supports the latter explanation" — that identification occurred after gate failure and retention — and reports no printed effect size for the null comparison.

"Students enrolled for the first time in the third, sixth, and eighth grades were no more likely to be classified as eligible for special education services after the pro-motion policy was implemented than before"

Discussion¶

Related Claims¶

• After the promotion gate, general education eighth graders were retained at far higher rates while retention of students with disabilities fell, raising the disabled share of ninth graders — related
• Retained third and sixth graders were placed in special education at about three times the rate of comparable low-achieving students — related
• Learning disabilities drove almost the entire rise in ninth-grade special education enrollment — related
• School closings had no effect on grade retention rates or special education referrals for displaced students — related