| Title: | Demographic and School Characteristics of Students Receiving Special Education in the Elementary Grades |
| Description: | This Issue Brief provides a detailed description of the proportion of elementary school students receiving special education in kindergarten, first grade, third grade, and fifth grade; the primary disabilities of these students; and the variation in these measures across a range of demographic and school characteristics. Data for this analysis are drawn from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Kindergarten Class of 1998-99 (ECLS-K). Findings from the analysis indicate that for the cohort of students beginning kindergarten in 1998, specific learning disabilities and speech or language impairments were the most prevalent primary disabilities over the grades studied. The percentage of the student cohort receiving special education grew from 4.1 percent in kindergarten to 11.9 percent of students in fifth grade. The results also indicate that higher percentages of boys than girls and of poor students than nonpoor students received special education. |
| Online Availability: |
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| Cover Date: | July 2007 |
| Web Release: | July 26, 2007 |
| Print Release: | Currently only available online, print version forthcoming. |
| Publication #: | NCES 2007005 General Ordering Information |
| Center/Program: | NCES |
| Authors: | William L. Herring, Daniel McGrath, Jacquelyn Buckley |
| Type of Product: | Issue Brief |
| Survey/Program Areas: |
Early Childhood Longitudinal Study (ECLS) |
| Keywords: | |
| Questions: |
For questions about the content of this Issue Brief, please contact: Rebecca Bielamowicz. |