Teacher as imperfect test: Reconceptualizing the referral process

A decade of public policy in special education has failed to yield suitable definitions, identification and assessment procedures, or reliable prevalence estimates of mild handicapping conditions, such as learning disabilities, mild mental retardation, and mild emotional disturbance. In the absence of professional agreement and compelling empirical evidence, federal and state policies represent a “consensual theory”; of special education for the mildly handicapped, based primarily on several psychometric‐oriented assumptions. Recent research has failed to support these assumptions and has provided evidence which is interpreted to show the overarching importance of teachers’ decision‐making — specifically decisions to refer a child for special education. This article argues the need for a rethinking of basic assumptions in special education for the mildly handicapped. Specifically, we recommend the design of: (a) new identification procedures at the school site level and (b) a program of research aimed at investigating teachers’ referral decisions.