The disproportionate placement of racial minorities and males into special education for learning disabilities (LDs) raises concerns that classifications occur inaccurately or inequitably. This study uses data from the Education Longitudinal Survey of 2002 to investigate the social etiology of LD classifications that persist into adolescence. Findings suggest the overclassification of racial minorities is largely consistent with (clinically relevant) differences in educational performance. Classifications may occur inconsistently or subjectively, with clinically irrelevant qualities like school characteristics and linguistic- immigration history independently predictive of disability classification. Finally, classifications may be partially biased, with male overclassification largely unexplained by this study's measures and racial minorities' risk of classification increased in schools with fewer minorities (the latter not statistically significant).
Keywords: Educational stratification; disabilities; gender; health disparities; race; school context; sociology of diagnosis.