The Ghost of the Bell Curve: Ableism in American Education and an Agenda for Change (Futures of Disability & Difference)

An enlightening look at how ableism creates exclusionary practices in education and how to dismantle them through informed, equitable decision-making How did we arrive at an education system so deeply shaped by ableism?In The Ghost of the Bell Curve, Rebecca A. Cruz and Allison R. Firestone explore this question and address the persistent problem of poor academic and social outcomes for students receiving special education services. Despite the Supreme Court's 1954 ruling that separate is not equal, inequitable education practices are a common and legally acceptable reality for a high percentage of students.Schools cannot legally segregate children based on race, yet they continue to create patterns of exclusion based on identity characteristics that intersect with ableism.This exclusion suggests an antiquated system grounded in bell-curve thinking which focuses on the myth of average and pathologizes difference.To understand this system, the authors unearth its sociohistorical roots,