An Investigation of the Effect of Instructional Consultation Teams on Special Education Placement Rate

Abstract

The main goal of Instructional Consultation Teams (IC Teams) is to promote and sustain student academic success within a general education environment. Research suggests that the implementation of IC Teams is followed by decreased referrals for special education and decreased overrepresentation of minority students in special education. Yet only a limited research supports these suggestions. In the current study, special education placement rates for 46 treatment schools and 46 matched comparison schools are analyzed in a multiply replicated interrupted time series design. This provides a powerful basis for examining the effect of IC Teams by limiting threats to internal validity, thereby increasing certainty about causality. A HLM statistical analysis of the data suggests that the implementation of IC Teams is not significantly effective in reducing special education placement rates. Statistical and visual analyses suggest that IC Teams may have a differential effect with schools with different socioeconomic standings.