In two studies regular classroom teachers were observed as they interacted with (1) nonhandicapped high achievers, (2) nonhandicapped low achievers, and (3) mildly handicapped students. In the first study 12 third-grade mainstreamed classrooms in two Utah cities were observed for eight one-day sessions. Twenty-one mainstreamed classrooms (12 third-grade and 9 fourth-grade) in South Dakota and Iowa were observed for four one-day sessions in the second study. The results indicated that the groups were significantly different on 8 of the 16 dependent measures in the Utah study and 7 of 16 dependent measures in the South Dakota/Iowa study. Five of the differences found were the same for both studies. The overall conclusion of the two studies is that, although there is substantial evidence that teacher-student interaction varies among the student groups observed, there is no strong evidence that general preferential treatment (i.e., treatment likely to result in better educational gains or a more effective learning environment) is consistently provided to any single group of students.
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