Implications of Ethnic Disproportion in Programs for the Educable Mentally Retarded
The authors review recent findings with respect to minority representation in educable-mentally-retarded programs. Two procedures outlined in federal regulations to ensure nonbiased assessment of such children are reviewed. Multidisciplinary teams, a long-standing resource in some states, do not appear to have been effective in curtailing large representation of minority students. Further, a review of monitoring efforts indicates serious lapses on the part of evaluation team members in collecting and reporting adaptive-behavior data. Implications are discussed and alternatives proposed.