The impact of standards-based reform on special education and the creation of the ‘dividual

Abstract

An urban Pre-K through 5th grade school referred to as Westvale Elementary School was the focal point for this research study. Westvale was located within an urban district in New York State that was host to approximately 20,000 students. Both the school and the district were labeled as failing under the No Child Left Behind Act. Foucauldian conception of biopolitics and Deleuzian notion of the ‘dividual are the theoretical frameworks used to make meaning of qualitative data collected for this study. Interview, observation, and document data revealed how the structures of a biopolitical society hierarchized, segregated, and geographically shifted certain demographic groups of students throughout the school district based on their potential to succeed on high stakes examinations. Teachers and administrators were also linked to the demographics of the students they taught and mandates of standards-based reform (SBR) often required the turnover of school personnel, causing frustration and stigma for educators and students alike. Mandated teacher and leader evaluations were also found to increase fear of teaching students with disabilities because they were viewed as ‘dividuals within the biopolitical system that SBR exacerbated.

Keywords:

• disability
• Deleuze
• educational policy
• Foucault
• inclusive education
• special education

Notes

1. The school and district demographics are rounded in order to preserve the anonymity of the participants in this study.

2. Response to intervention (RTI) is an alternative to the historical ‘discrepancy’ model of diagnosing learning disabilities in the US. RTI is a tiered system where students receive increasingly intensive intervention services if they are failing to keep up with peers. If students do not respond positively to high level interventions, they are eventually referred for a special education evaluation. Positive Behavior Intervention and Supports (PBIS) is a similar framework for students who struggle with behavior in schools.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Jessica Bacon

Dr. Jessica Bacon is an assistant professor of special education at Lehman College, The City University of New York. Dr. Bacon teaches courses in both the masters special education program as well as in the undergraduate disability studies minor. She received her PhD from Syracuse University in December 2012. Dr. Bacon’s dissertation and recent publications have investigated the impact of the standards-based reform movement on special education. Her investigation of standards-based reform is part of a larger research agenda, which focuses on understanding inclusive and special education systems through a disability studies perspective. She has integrated her research and service commitments by working closely with community members who are parent-advocates, self-advocates, teachers, and students with disabilities. She has also been enthusiastically involved in promoting policies and practices that advocate for the inclusion of people with disabilities within k-12 and higher education systems.