THE IDENTIFICATION OF INDIVIDUALS WITH DISABILITIES IN NATIONAL DATABASES - CREATING A FAILURE TO COMMUNICATE

The purpose of this study was to analyze similarities and differences in how students with disabilities are identified in national databases . National data collection programs in the U.S. Departments of Educati on, Commerce, Labor, Justice, and Health and Human Services, as well a s databases from the National Science Foundation, the American Council of Education, and the College Board, were examined. Nineteen national data collection programs were selected as being potentially useful in the extraction of policy-relevant information on the educational stat us and performance of students with disabilities. Among these 19 progr ams there was significant variability in the disability categories use d. These programs were targeted for two reasons: (a) their potential u sefulness in providing indicators of domains in key models of educatio nal outcomes for children and youth with disabilities, and (b) their p rominence in current efforts to monitor progress toward the attainment of national education goals. Discussed are issues related to improvin g disability identification in large-scale data collection programs an d the effects of these issues on reporting policy-relevant information .