The purpose of this article is to examine the application of randomized controlled trial (RCT) methodology for determining the efficacy of school-based interventions in general and special education. In education science, RCTs are widely acknowledged as the gold standard of efficacy research, with other methodologies relegated to a lower level of credibility. However, scholars from different disciplines have raised a variety of issues with RCT methodology, such as the utility of random assignment, external validity, and the challenges of applying the methodology for assessing complex service interventions, which are necessary for many students with disabilities. Also, scholars have noted that school-based RCT studies have largely generated low effect sizes, which indicate that the outcomes of the interventions do not differ substantially from services as usual. The criticisms of RCT studies as the primary methodology in school-based intervention research for students with disabilities are offered along with recommendations for extending the acceptability of a broader variety of research approaches.

本文的目的是检查随机对照试验 (RCT) 方法在确定基于学校的干预措施在普通和特殊教育中的有效性的应用。在教育科学中，RCT 被广泛认为是功效研究的黄金标准，而其他方法论的可信度较低。然而，来自不同学科的学者对 RCT 方法提出了各种问题，例如随机分配的效用、外部有效性，以及应用该方法评估复杂服务干预的挑战，这对于许多残疾学生来说是必要的。此外，学者们指出，以学校为基础的 RCT 研究在很大程度上产生了低效应量，这表明干预的结果与通常的服务没有显着差异。对 RCT 研究作为残疾学生学校干预研究的主要方法提出了批评，并提出了扩大更广泛研究方法可接受性的建议。