Cover of Methods for Assessing Racial/Ethnic Disproportionality in Special Education: A Technical Assistance Guide. Green, blue and white page with IDEA Data Center and Westat logosDownload PDF

This guide discusses common methods for calculating racial/ethnic disproportionality in special education. It provides a summary of the specific question each method answers, as well as step-by-step examples of how disproportionality is calculated. You’ll also find brief discussions of how to interpret the method and other considerations. The guide assists state agency staff who make decisions about their state’s disproportionality analyses and anyone who analyzes disproportionality data or interprets the results of those analyses. 

The document was produced by the Data Accountability Center and later revised by the IDEA Data Center. 

Authors: Julie Bollmer, James Bethel, Tom Munk, Amy Bitterman

Key topics: Data collection and submission, SPP/APR disproportionate representation, disproportionate representation in specific disability categories, data analysis and use, and data visualization