Least Dangerous Assumption

The least dangerous assumption is a principle stating that educational decisions about a student should be based on the assumption which, if it later proves wrong, will do the least harm to that student. Developed in 1984 by special-education researcher Anne Donnellan, the principle is applied most often in the education of students with intellectual disabilities and communication disorders, where it favors presuming competence over presuming incompetence when the evidence is inconclusive, on the reasoning that overestimating a student's ability is less damaging than underestimating it. This description is adapted from Wikipedia contributors under CC BY-SA 4.0; changes were made. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/