Getting it Right

This blog post is a review of the journal article "Evaluating Special Education Services for Learners From Ethnically Diverse Groups: Getting It Right" as published by  The Association for Persons with Severe Handicaps in, JASH, 2001, Vol. 26, No. 3, pg. 138-147.

From the article, "Evaluating Special Education Services for Learners From Ethnically Diverse Groups: Getting It Right", the author, Jill Bevan-Brown explores the most important factors in appropriately assessing and interviewing people from an ethically diverse group. The article begins explaining that when evaluating students of ethically diverse backgrounds their needs to be a focus on obtaining "accurate, valid, reliable and relevant information." (pg. 138)

The article focuses on examples of misconceptions, misunderstandings and a lack of transparency between people of different ethnic backgrounds. For example, the author interviewed a woman of the same ethnic and cultural identity as her own, but because she did not appear to have the same ethnic background, this information wasn't obvious. The beginning of the interview the woman spent time casually talking to build a small relationship. As the interview began, the interviewer began to ask personal questions on the special education services her son was receiving. One question she asked was if she cared about the cultural differences between her son and his speech therapist. At first the interviewee said this was not a concern to her and she felt comfortable with the speech therapist.

Throughout the rest of the interview the author expresses how formal the interview felt. After a few questions, the interviewer revealed subtly that she has the same ethnic background as her, which made a huge impact on the rest of the interview. The interviewee immediately caught her subtle revelation and asked directly if she was Maori like she was. Once they had this shared equity, the author reveals how quickly their relationship grew. The author explains that she felt that the interviewee opened up and even changed her answers to questions previously asked. She also explained that she did care about the ethnic background of her sons speech therapist and revealed she did not want the interviewer to think she was racially prejudiced. (pg 139)

It is not a huge revelation in my eyes that people with the same ethnic backgrounds are able to have a more intimate conversation. When I worked with a student from India, and said hello to them in their native language, a huge smile swept across their face. I do not have any obvious characteristics that show that my father is from Pakistan, however the second this student realized I had similar ethnic background as him, he felt a connection with me. With this information, it makes you question how accurate is the information we obtain from students who are culturally diverse from those who assess them.

At the school I work at, we do have an ELD teacher who speaks Spanish, however she does not have a ethnically diverse background. She is an American woman who was born and raised by American parents. Does this make it more challenging for her to understand the cultural and social customs of the Spanish students she works with? Is the fact that she speaks Spanish enough to say that her and the students she assesses have a trust and transparency in their relationship?

The article continues on to express the factors needed between students and those who evaluate for special education services to make the information they receive to be valid and reliable. The article has six "rights" to think about for assessing students of ethnic backgrounds that are explained below. (pg 143-145)

1) The right people are asking the questions.

Having someone that the student can trust and be more open with, who may share the same ethnic background as them, will have the student be more forthcoming with information.


2) Asking the right questions.

Having a process for generating a culturally appropriate and meaningful questionnaire for families of the students. This means having an open dialogue for people to share concerns or feedback on the information asked to families and how that can be culturally inappropriate. If you can create a questionnaire that asked the right questions you can get the information that is most appropriate for that ethnic group needed to identify a student.

3) Asking the right people.

Think about how can you find people who can share and express understanding of a culture.

4) Asking in the right way.

Creating a positive relationship and build trust in who you are evaluating to ensure that answers are accurate and meaningful.

5) Asking questions in the right place.
6) Asking questions at the right time.


A lot of cultures have different communication styles that are deemed as respectful or inappropriate. When communicating with people, have some knowledge of respectful practices in their culture. Also, give them the power to set a meeting time and place to converse in a place and time that is comfortable to them.


The study from the article states that students "are classified through a misunderstanding or through a different cultural perspective" (pg 145) and are being labeled as having an intellectual disability. Although this article reflects a very specific ethnic group of the Maori culture, it is easy to draw connections in my own placement and experience. As the school I work at becomes more diverse, I want families to know that their child is important and their ethnic background is respected. If we can take the 6 "rights" of evaluating students with diverse backgrounds, we can determine more reliable information on students to properly identify the students struggles in our education system.

There is so much more information that we can get from our research and genuine interest in families that standardized testing will never be able to obtain for us. Each student deserves a individualized assessment and evaluation plan to truly identify where there struggles stem from. If a student struggles in school, receiving special education services may not be the most appropriate or beneficial way for that student to become successful.