This paper is a history of the treatment and consideration given in American education to students who are now classified as "at-risk." The term is a relatively recent coinage, reflecting the newness of educators' recognition that a measurable portion of students, beyond those with evident physical or mental handicaps, have special educational needs. Comprehending what educators mean by the term "at-risk," which has become more an acknowledgement of economic disadvantage and less a categorization of biological abnormalities, is essential to understanding the ways in which such children have been treated throughout the development of the educational system in the United States.
Historically, the concept of compulsory education for all as an individual right and a societal necessity developed while the United States grew and matured into an industrialized nation. The changing way in which educators have looked on the problems presented by "at-risk" children represents a striking model for their refinement in thinking about education as a whole. From early Colonial times, when schooling was considered to be primarily the responsibility of the family, to the modern age of widespread societal involvement in educational systems that attempt to include the entire young population, the varying needs of the individual child continue to pose a complicated challenge to each successive generation.
Educators began to talk about "at-risk" students during the 1970s but still have not agreed on a precise definition of the term. While it may include students with physical or emotional handicaps, learning disabilities, or other special education needs, "at risk" has come to focus primarily on children of poverty, those from poorer single-parent homes, and those without homes at all. Stephen B. McCarney (1991) writes:
"At-Risk" means different things to different people. To the teacher, "At-Risk" may mean the student is "At-Risk" f...