Key Findings for Preschool-Age Children Identified for Services Under IDEA

This section highlights findings for children ages 3 through 5 identified for services under IDEA Part B preschool programs. Results reported include the identification of preschool children for services under IDEA and their academic and social outcomes. Information on identification is based on data from DANS and NVSS.⁹ Analyses on children's outcomes are based on data from PEELS.

Identification of Preschool-Age Children for Services Under IDEA

• In 2006, the percentage of preschool-age children identified for services under IDEA was 5.82 percent (n = 706,242), an increase from 4.70 percent (n = 564,270) in 1997 (see exhibit ES.6). This overall increase from 1997 to 2006 was 1.12 percentage points, and the percentage of 3- through 5-year-olds increased every year from 1997 to 2006 for the overall preschool-age group.
• In 2006, the percentage of preschool-age children identified for services under IDEA differed for children of each single year of age (see exhibit ES.6). As shown in exhibit ES.6, the highest percentage was among 5-year-olds (7.41 percent), followed by 4-year-olds (6.07 percent) and 3-year-olds (4.01 percent).
• The percentage of preschool-age children identified for services increased from 1997 to 2006 for each single year of age. For 5-year-old children, the percentage increased from 6.27 percent to 7.41 percent (1.14 percentage increase); for 4-year-olds, it increased from 4.89 percent to 6.07 percent (1.18 percentage increase); and for 3-year olds, it increased from 2.88 percent to 4.01 percent (1.13 percentage increase).
• In 2006, the percentage of 3- through 5-year-olds identified for services under IDEA differed by children's race/ethnicity category. Percentages ranged from 3.59 percent (Asian preschool-age children) to 8.14 percent (American Indian preschool-age children). The percentages for White, Black, and Hispanic preschool-age children were 6.45 percent, 5.93 percent, and 4.52 percent, respectively.
• Between 1998 and 2006, the relative position of preschool-age children by race/ethnicity category remained the same for those identified for services under IDEA. For each year from 1998 to 2006, American Indian preschool-age children had the highest identification percentages (ranging from 6.31 percent in 1998 to 8.14 percent in 2006) followed by White (4.86 percent to 6.45 percent), Black (4.43 percent to 5.93 percent), Hispanic (3.10 percent to 4.52 percent), and Asian preschool-age children (2.28 percent to 3.59 percent).

Exhibit ES.6. Trends in national percentage of preschool-age children identified for services under IDEA, by age (1997–2006)

• In 2006, the percentage of 3- through 5-year-olds identified for services under IDEA varied by disability category.¹⁰ The largest percentages were for preschool-age children identified under the speech or language impairments and developmental delay categories of IDEA (2.73 percent and 2.06 percent, respectively).
• Between 2004 and 2006, the percentage of 3- through 5-year-olds identified for services under IDEA increased for all but four of the disability categories. Changes in the identification percentages for each disability category were examined relative to the identification percentage in 2004. The largest increase, relative to the percentage of children identified under each disability category in 2004, was for children with autism (34.87 percent), followed by children classified with other health impairments (24.64 percent). The largest relative decrease was for children with deaf-blindness (–19.05 percent).
• States varied in the percentage of preschool-age children identified for services under IDEA in 2006. The states, ordered by their identification percentage in 2006, ranged from 3.32 percent in the District of Columbia to 13.66 percent in Wyoming. Of the 50 states and the District of Columbia, 49 had higher identification percentages in 2006 than in 1997 (exceptions were Idaho and Texas).

Outcomes for Children Identified for Preschool Services Under IDEA

Data from PEELS were used to describe outcomes for preschool-age children. Outcomes are reported in the form of standard scores for children ages 3 through 5 and for each age year; the general population (based on norm samples including both children with and without disabilities) has a mean standard score of 100.0 and a standard deviation of 15.0.

• In the Woodcock Johnson (WJ III) Letter-Word Identification test, the mean score for 5-year-olds identified for services (96.8; SE = 0.98) differed from that of their same-age peers in the general population, but the scores of the 3- and 4-year-olds did not (100.8 and 98.5, SE = 1.37 and SE = 0.98 respectively; see exhibit ES.7). As a group, all children ages 3 through 5 identified for preschool services under IDEA had a mean standard score on the Letter-Word Identification subtest of 98.2 (SE = 0.78), which was not significantly different from the general population mean of 100.0 (p < .001, see exhibit ES.7).
• Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test-Third Edition (PPVT-III) scores for preschool children identified for services under IDEA, both overall and for each age cohort, were significantly lower than those for the general population. Children identified for preschool services under IDEA had significantly lower mean scores on the vocabulary test than preschool-age children in the general population for the group as a whole (90.1, SE = 0.59 vs. 100.0), as well as for children in each age-year cohort (88.6, 89.7, and 91.1, and SE = 0.78, SE = 0.78 and SE = 0.88 for 3-, 4-, and 5-year-olds, respectively; p < .001 for all comparisons, see exhibit ES.7).
• WJ III numeracy outcomes for preschool children identified for services under IDEA, both overall and for each age cohort, were significantly lower than those for the general population. Preschool children with disabilities had a mean standard score on the WJ III Applied Problems subtest of 90.3 (SE = 0.98), which was significantly lower than the mean score of 100.0 for the general population. The significant difference from the general population was apparent for all three age cohorts, with mean scores of 88.2, 91.2, and 90.6, and SE = 1.27, SE = 1.57 and SE = 0.98 for 3-, 4-, and 5-year-olds, respectively (p < .001 for all comparisons, see exhibit ES.7).
• Preacademic skills from the Adaptive Behavior Assessment System-Second Edition (ABAS-II) of preschool children identified for services under IDEA as a group and for all age groups individually were statistically lower than those of the general population. For children identified for preschool services under IDEA who were not yet in kindergarten, the overall mean teacher/day care provider rating on the Functional Preacademics subtest was 89.5 (SE = 0.98), which was significantly different from the general population mean of 100.0. The difference from the general population was also statistically significant for all three age cohorts, with mean scores of 88.5, 90.0, and 93.5, and SE = 0.98, SE = 0.98 and SE = 1.47 for 3-, 4-, and 5-year-olds, respectively (p < .001 for all comparisons, see exhibit ES.7).
• Social skills outcomes measured by the Preschool and Kindergarten Behavior Scales-Second Edition (PKBS-2) for preschool children identified for services under IDEA were significantly lower than those of the general population. Three- and 4-year-old preschoolers also had significantly lower social skills ratings than the general population and than 5-year-olds, but 5-year-olds did not differ from the general population. Children identified for preschool services under IDEA, as a group, had a mean Social Skills standard score of 92.8 (SE = 0.88), which was significantly lower than the general population mean score of 100.0 (p < .001). The mean score for 3-year-old children identified for preschool services was 85.2 (SE = 1.08), for 4-year-olds it was 93.0 (SE = 1.08), and for 5-year-olds it was 96.5 (SE = 1.37).

Exhibit ES.7. Mean literacy, numeracy, and preacademic skills scores of 3- through 5-year-olds identified for services under IDEA (2005)

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