Understanding Special Education at Scale

Christopher Cleveland

The US spends over $100 billion annually on special education, and over 15% of students receive special education. Special education is crucial for public education. However, the field lacks an understanding of how IEPs vary across districts, schools, and students. We do not understand how or why special education works better for some students. Specifically, we know very little about the evaluations, goals, and services students receive in their Individualized Education Programs (IEPs). IEP information, studied at scale, can elucidate special education across districts and inform the evolution of practice and policy to support students' success. We need this information to improve student support, professional development, and legal compliance processes. To address this issue, this project will examine the association between special education Individualized Education Programs (IEPs) and students' educational contexts. The project will (a) create new measures using machine learning techniques applied to IEP text data from each IEP component (Evaluation, Present Levels of Performance, Goals, Services, Accommodations, Participation, and Placement) and (b) ascertain how district-level contextual factors relate to patterns of words and phrases within IEP components across geographic locales, and explore malleable district- and school-level factors associated with IEP variation. Leveraging this comprehensive dataset positions the project to make significant contributions by illuminating special education at scale.

About Christopher Cleveland

Dr. Christopher Cleveland is an Assistant Professor of Education and Education Policy at Brown University, appointed in the Education Department and the Annenberg Institute. His research and teaching focus on quantitative policy evaluation in academic, behavioral, and cognitive development issues in gifted and special education, education finance, and the education workforce. In addition to his research, Christopher partners with school systems, government agencies, and foundations on strategy issues related to these topics. Christopher Cleveland has a Ph.D. in Education Policy and Program Evaluation from Harvard University, an Ed.M. in Education Policy and Management from Harvard Graduate School of Education, an A.M. in Education from Harvard University, and an A.B. in Sociology with a Secondary in Mind, Brain, & Behavior from Harvard College.