The impact of inclusion programs on the academic achievement on non-disabled learners in selected Texas elementary schools

The primary purpose of this study was to explore the academic achievement of non-disabled regular education students and how their academic achievement was impacted by the inclusion of special education students in the general education classroom. The inclusion of special education students in the regular education classroom was analyzed in order to determine if academic achievement for the non-disabled student was impacted in the subject areas of reading and mathematics. Students' academic progress was compared using the Iowa Test of Basic Skills utilizing a pretest and posttest design. The independent variables of teacher training and teacher years of experience were correlated with total reading and total mathematics posttest scores utilizing partial correlation coefficients to analyze the relationship between the particular variable and the adjusted academic achievement of the non-disabled learner. Assessment data were evaluated utilizing an ANCOVA to analyze for mean differences. A multiple regression analysis was also executed to examine how independent variables consisting of pretest achievement scores, years of teacher experience, hours of training, and inclusion functioned as predictors of academic achievement in the subject areas of reading and mathematics.; Overall, results indicated that teacher training and teacher years of experience were not correlated to academic achievement of the non-disabled learner in the subject areas of reading and mathematics. Results from the ANCOVA indicated that students without disabilities served in non-inclusion classrooms started out with higher achievement and finished with higher achievement meaning that the achievement of both groups of students was similar and statistically indistinguishable. Results for the multiple regression in both reading and mathematics were similar indicating that classroom setting did not account for reading or mathematics achievement when pretest, experience, and training were controlled.; In summary, although the results of this study indicated that the inclusion of special education students in the general education setting does not negatively affect the academic achievement of the non-disabled learner, with the current demand to educate a greater number of students with disabilities in inclusive classroom settings, educators and researchers must continue to examine how the inclusion of disabled students in the general education classroom impacts academic achievement.