The
identification rate was higher when students were in MPS both because many students who switched from MPCP to MPS received
special education designations in MPS and because many students with
special education designations in MPS shed them when they enrolled in MPCP schools.
The authors examine the literature on potential sources of disproportionate
identification rates — including test bias, poverty,
special education processes, inequity in general
education, issues of behavior management, and cultural sensitivity — and conclude that no single simple explanation exists.