Rates of Classroom Participation and the Validity of Sociometry

Abstract

We explored the effects of different rates of classroom participation on the peer ratings of three student groups: (a) students with learning disabilities; (b) low-achieving nondisabled students; and (c) average-and high-achieving students. Sociometric ratings from 14 classrooms with full, or nearly full, student participation (i.e., 92% to 100%) were sampled randomly and repeatedly so that 25%, 50%, and 75% of the students in each of the classes were involved. At each participation level, peer ratings were compared against a “standard” level of 92% to 100% for the three student groups. Results suggested that, as the rate of classroom participation decreased, ratings tended to diverge increasingly from standard-level ratings. This was particularly true for the low-achieving students; less so for students with learning disabilities; and least so for average-and high-achieving students. In addition, across the three student groups, findings indicated 75% and below represented an insufficient participation rate from which to generalize to the whole classroom. Implications for practitioners and researchers are discussed.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Chad Hamilton

Chad Hamilton, MEd, is a doctoral student in the School Psychology program at the University of Oregon in Eugene. His areas of research interest are assessment and the reintegration of children in mainstream educational settings.

Douglas Fuchs

Douglas Fuchs, PhD, is Professor of Special Education and Co-Director of the Kennedy Center's Institute on Learning Accommodations and Integration at Peabody College of Vanderbilt University. His research and teaching interests include linking assessment to instruction, peer-mediated learning, and the integration of students with disabilities.

Lynn S. Fuchs

Lynn S. Fuchs, PhD, is Professor of Special Education and Co-Director of the Kennedy Center's Institute on Learning Accommodations and Integration at Peabody College of Vanderbilt University. She conducts research on classroom-based assessment and on relationships between assessment, instruction, and academic achievement.

Holley Roberts

Holley Roberts, PhD, is a second-year law student at New York University in New York. She is a former doctoral student in philosophy and part-time research assistant in the Department of Special Education, Peabody College of Vanderbilt University.