As a sociologist of education, Rachel Fish studies the social construction of disability and giftedness, and how these relate to inequality. In particular, her research examines the role of special and gifted education in stratification by race, gender, socioeconomic status and linguistic background. She uses multiple methods, including experimental and quasi-experimental methods, observational data analyses, and interviews, to understand how students are sorted into special and gifted education programs, and how these services ameliorate and exacerbate inequalities.