HIGH AND LOW REFERRING TEACHERS - 2 TYPES OF TEACHERS-AS-TESTS

The present investigation addressed elementary teachers' perceptions r egarding their referral practices by examining certain aspects of Gerb er and Semmel's teacher-as-test conceptualization of student referral. More specifically, teachers' perceptions regarding the students they refer, as well as the criteria and resources they use to make referral decisions were addressed. Twenty-four high and low referring elementa ry teachers were interviewed, and the resulting data were analysed usi ng qualitative methods. Results revealed that these groups of teachers differed with respect to interventions they described which were init iated prior to referral; resources used to make the referral decision; and factors considered when deciding whether to refer. In general, hi gh referring teachers tended to view referral as an initial source of support when student difficulties arose, while low referring teachers tended to adapt instruction in their classrooms and 'exhaust all instr uctional options' before seeking to refer a student for possible speci al education services. The implications of these findings for educatio nal practice are discussed.