What can be done to improve fairness in the identification process of diverse learners?

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

Before a referral for special education is officially made, the educators involved come together as a team to develop a deep understanding of the student's learning or behavior difficulties and to suggest strategies to address these difficulties. In the case of culturally diverse learners, the team should carefully examine factors in the student's environment that may influence learning during the traditional prereferral process or response to intervention (RTI) procedures, Garcia and Ortiz (1988) recommended systematic examination of classroom and teacher variables. Beyond enhanced intervention prior to referral, alternatives to traditional assessment procedures can be used. The eligibility determination process can be less dependent on standardized, norm-referenced assessment instruments because they tend to emphasize verbal skills, analytical thinking, and field-independent cognitive styles-elements that may lead to lower scores for many culturally diverse students.