Handicapping the handicapped

the long version

"Based on field research in a West Coast school district, this study attempts to explain and understand the process by which elementary school students are placed in categories such as "learning disabled" and "educationally handicapped." It shows how conventional practices such as tracking and special education placement mediate the relationship between students' characteristics, measured ability, and educational achievement. The analysis focuses on three key decision-making events - classroom behavior, educational testing situations, and placement committee hearings..." -- Dust jacket.