Understanding Differential Growth During School Years and Summers for Students in Special Education

• In Event: AERA Roundtable Session 1
  In Roundtable Session: Accessible Instruction and Universal Design for Learning: Research and Practice (Table 24)

Abstract

This study compares within- and across-years academic growth from kindergarten to 4th grade for students ever in special education (ever-SPED) to students never in special education (never-SPED). We follow one cohort of about 4,200 students and assess them up to three times per year. Although ever-SPED students started kindergarten with lower math and reading scores and grew less in both subjects than never-SPED students in the kindergarten year, ever-SPED students grew more during some of the subsequent school years. However, ever-SPED students lost more learning every summer than never-SPED students. This led the test score disparities to expand between kindergarten and 4th grade. These findings suggest that summer opportunities are crucial for improving educational outcomes for students with disabilities.

Authors

• Angela Johnson, American Institutes for Research

• Elizabeth Barker, NWEA