Identification Rates of English Learners and Twice-Exceptional Students: Targeted Equity Gains Require Targeted Equity Actions

• In Event: Gifted Identification in Students From Traditionally Underrepresented Populations Symposia

Abstract

Students who are either English Learners (EL) or who receive special education services (twice exceptional: 2e) are disproportionately underrepresented in gifted programs. The Optimizing Identification Project seeks to help schools increase student access to gifted and talented services, improve the alignment between identification procedures and services provided, increase the sensitivity of identification systems, and decrease the cost associated with identification (see Cost, Alignment, Sensitivity, Access [CASA] Criteria; Peters et al., 2022). This presentation overviews alternative identification pathways (e.g., local norms, combining assessments in different ways, adding two-phase identification) for six school districts from across the country, to improve identification rates across traditionally underrepresented groups. For this paper, we focused on outcomes for EL and 2e students.

Partnerships were established with districts to determine specific identification goals and better understand the policies and students at each district. Thus, the baseline and alternative identification paths analyzed were not uniform across districts. Instead, our analysis consisted of a set of potential pathways that could improve gifted identification equity. The alternative pathways were inspired by the empirical literature and featured local norms, OR combination rules, and multiple pathways. For both the baseline system and alternate pathways, we reported sensitivity estimates, cost, as well as percentage identified and representation indices for EL and 2e students.

Across all six districts we found fairly regular disproportional representation of EL and 2e students. Representation Indices (RI) ranged from 0.36-1.15 for EL students and from 0.14-.81 for 2e students. One of the clearest findings was how much the RIs for EL and 2e students diverged from those other traditionally underrepresented groups; touted identification practices like universal screening and local norms that resulted in increased representation of low-income, Black, and Latinx students did not necessarily increase representation for EL or 2e students. In one district that universally administered a teacher rating scale, achievement test, and ability test, the teacher rating scale alone yielded the best equity for Latinx and low-income students whereas in another model, using the ability test alone yielded the best representation for 2e and EL students. A second district also showed the best equity for EL students relied on the nonverbal portion of the CogAT, but contrary to popular belief this was not consistent across all districts.

In sum, many identification practices that increased representation along race/ethnicity demographics (e.g., universal screening, local norms) did not have equivalent increases for EL and 2e students. Increased representation of EL and 2e students in gifted programming will require deep work to uncover the causes of and solutions to their disproportionate representation. Recombining existing identification tools does not appear to provide consistent increased identification rates. Targeted equity gains require targeted equity actions.

Authors

• Matthew C. Makel, University of Calgary
  Presenting Author

• Scott Joseph Peters, NWEA
  Presenting Author

• Tamra Stambaugh, Whitworth University
  Presenting Author

• Lindsay Ellis Lee, East Tennessee State University
  Presenting Author

• Matthew McBee, Service Management Group
  Presenting Author

• D. Betsy Mccoach, University of Connecticut
  Presenting Author

• Kiana R. Johnson, University of Minnesota
  Presenting Author