edited by M. Suzanne Donovan and Christopher T. Cross, National Research Council
2002
As Congress debates reauthorization of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) later this year and into next, reports like "Minority Students in Special and Gifted Education" by the National Research Council will receive much attention. The main point of this hefty volume, issued by the Committee on Minority Representation in Special Education, is that minority youngsters who are ill-prepared for school should first receive some quality classroom instruction and social support such as tutoring before being channeled into special education programs. IDEA should not become a perverse safety net for schools and communities that have failed to teach children basic skills. This report also reminds all who seek to shrink the achievement gap between white and minority students that the effort must start at the onset of their education, or even earlier. According to the Committee, "there is substantial evidence with regard to both behavior and achievement that early identification and intervention is more effective than later identification and intervention." Despite this fact, the report continues, "the current special education identification process relies on a 'wait-to-fail' principle that both increases the likelihood that children will fail because they do not receive early supports and decreases the effectiveness of supports once they are received." To meet the needs of at-risk children as well as those of gifted students, the Committee urges making certain that teacher licensing and certification requirements call for training in effective intervention methods to assist students who fail to meet minimum academic standards-or who exceed them. You'll find plenty to chew on in this report, available at http://www.nap.edu/catalog/10128.html.
