The Effectiveness of Inclusion in Texas High Schools

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Education (Ed.D)

Department

Educational Administration

Date of Award

Fall 2013

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to employ value-added methodology to determine which placement setting offered the ninth grade 2009 special education high school cohort the most academic growth as measured on the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills (TAKS). This particular cohort was selected because it was the most recent cohort for which 3 years of TAKS testing data were available. For this study, placement setting was operationalized as the percentage of time students with disabilities spend in the general education classroom. Data were obtained from two databases through the Texas Education Agency (TEA). The Academic Excellence Indicator System (AEIS) database contains student achievement data as well as dropout, completion rates and other required data on every public school, district, or region in the state of Texas, and the Public Education Information Management System (PEIMS) stores information such as a student's instructional setting code, which is a code that denotes the percentage of time a student with disabilities spends in general education classes. To be included in the study, students' data had the following parameters applied: (a) same instructional arrangement code (IAC) for 3 years; (b) had 3 years of TAKS data; (c) qualified for special education services all 3 years; and (d) advanced to the next grade with their cohort group each of the 3 years. Research questions were answered by using multiple regression and analysis of variance (ANOVA) calculations. Multiple regression was used to obtain an estimated performance score (EPS) on the TAKS reading and math tests using the first 2 (out of 3) years of student test scores. The EPS was compared to the actual third year TAKS score. The differences between the actual TAKS scores mean and the EPS mean indicated that students in less restrictive environments did not grow academically as expected in reading/language arts and math from 2008-2009 to 2010-2011. Conversely, the differences between the actual TAKS scores mean and the EPS mean indicated that the resource student group grew academically more than expected in both reading/language arts and math from 2008-2009 to 2010-2011. The results added to the knowledge base regarding inclusion given the scarcity of longitudinal studies directly linking special education students' access to the general education curriculum and improved student achievement (Hardman & Dawson, 2008).

Advisor

Casey Brown

Subject Categories

Education | Educational Administration and Supervision

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