The Efficacy of Early Childhood Special Education

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine the impacts of early childhood special education (ECSE) services on students’ continued eligibility for special education services through the end of middle school and the similarities and differences in the sociodemographic characteristics of those who received ECSE services and those who began receiving special education services in Kindergarten. Given the lack of impact in studies about ECSE, this study investigated whether intervention prior to kindergarten impacts a students’ long-term need for special education services differently than waiting until Kindergarten to provide that intervention. In addition, this study suggests an economic argument for investment in ECSE services. This study divided a cohort of students into three groups: Group 1 – PK3 includes students who received two years of ECSE services, Group 2 – PK4 includes students who received one year of ECSE services, and Group 3 – K includes students who did not received special education services until their kindergarten years. First, the sociodemographic characteristics of these groups were compared using a series of four chi-square tests for independence. Then, Kaplan Meier survival analysis was used to describe the survival functions for each group. Finally, five models of survival functions using Cox regressions were run in order to examine the impact of various covariates on students’ continued eligibility for special education. The results of this study indicated that the sociodemographic makeup of these groups is inconsistent with regard to primary disability, race, and lunch status. Generally, racial minority students and students from low income households are less likely to be identified for ECSE services. This study also found that students who received ECSE services were more likely to be dismissed for special education prior to the end of middle school than their peers who were not identified for special education until Kindergarten. Interestingly, students who received just one year of special education services were more likely to be dismissed at any point throughout the observation period than students who received two years of special education services. In addition, students who have a speech/language disability are significantly more likely than students with other primary disabilities to be dismissed from special education at any point throughout the observation period.