The effect of inclusion classrooms on the science achievement of general education students

General education and Special Education students from three high schools in Rutherford County were sampled to determine the effect on their academic achievement on the Tennessee Biology I Gateway Exam in Inclusion classrooms. Each student\u27s predicted and actual Gateway Exam scores from the academic year 2006–2007 were used to determine the effect the student\u27s classroom had on his academic achievement. Independent variables used in the study were gender, ethnicity, socioeconomic level, grade point average, type of classroom (general or Inclusion), and type student (General Education or Special Education). The statistical tests used in this study were a t-test and a Mann–Whitney U Test. From this study, the effect of the Inclusion classroom on general education students was not significant statistically. Although the Inclusion classroom allows the special education student to succeed in the classroom, the effect on general education students is negligible. This study also provided statistical data that the Inclusion classroom did not improve the special education students\u27 academic performances on the Gateway Exam. Students in a general education classroom with a GPA above 3.000 and those from a household without a low socioeconomic status performed at a statistically different level in this study