ABSTRACT
Disproportionate representation, or disproportionality, refers to the over-or underrepresentation of a given population group in a specific category; it is often defined by racial and ethnic backgrounds, but also defined by socioeconomic status, national origin, English proficiency, gender, and sexual orientation (Elementary & Middle Schools Technical Assistance Center, 2015). Disproportionality occurs across a number of areas and fields, including health, education, and employment. For example, the overrepresentation of minorities in adverse health outcomes is often referred to as health disparities (Carter-Pokras & Baquet, 2002). There is also documented underrepresentation of women and ethnic minorities in science, technology, engineering, and math fields (Linn, 2007). In education, disproportionate outcomes for African American youth have been observed fairly consistently in special education placement (e.g., mental retardation, severe emotional disturbance) (Artiles, Kozleski, Trent, Osher, & Ortiz, 2010; Donovan & Cross, 2002; Morgan, Salomon, Plotkin, & Cohen, 2014; Skiba et al., 2011) and school discipline practices, including office disciplinary referrals (ODRs) (Bradshaw, Mitchell, O’Brennan, & Leaf, 2010; Skiba et al., 2008, 2011), suspensions (Krezmien, Leone, & Achilles, 2006; Mendez & Knoff, 2003; Porowski, O’Conner, & Passa, 2014), and expulsions (Porowski et al., 2014; Wallace, Goodkind, Wallace, & Bachman, 2008).
