ERIC Number: EJ1357971
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2023-Jan
Pages: 17
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0014-4029
EISSN: EISSN-2163-5560
Over Diagnosed or over Looked? The Effect of Age at Time of School Entry on Students Receiving Special Education Services
Anna Shapiro
Exceptional Children, v89 n2 p161-177 Jan 2023
There is growing evidence that school starting age impacts children's likelihood of receiving special education services, but less is known about variations in this effect. Using a regression discontinuity design, I found that the youngest students in a kindergarten cohort are 40% more likely (p < 0.001) to be placed in special education than are the oldest students, and that this effect persists through eighth grade. I found little evidence of heterogeneity by gender, race, or socioeconomic status, but some suggestive evidence that the effect is particularly great for White boys in early grades and for Black girls in the later elementary grades. I also found exploratory evidence that this effect is largest in schools with kindergarten cohorts that vary widely in age. These findings add new evidence to support policies to reduce age-induced bias in early special education placements, particularly those that address variation in this effect across students and schools. [For the corresponding grantee submission, see ED621422.]
Descriptors: Clinical Diagnosis, School Entrance Age, Special Education, Age Differences, Student Placement, Elementary School Students, Middle School Students, Predictor Variables, Kindergarten, Students with Disabilities, Student Characteristics, Gender Differences, Racial Differences, Ethnicity, Socioeconomic Status, Disability Identification
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Related Records: ED650831
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Elementary Education; Junior High Schools; Middle Schools; Secondary Education; Early Childhood Education; Kindergarten; Primary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: Institute of Education Sciences (ED)
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Michigan
IES Funded: Yes
Grant or Contract Numbers: R305A140059