Club director Will Schuester (Matthew Morrison) decides to feature overlooked performers from the group for Sectionals, to the consternation of the usual lead singers, Rachel Berry (Lea Michele) and Finn Hudson (Cory Monteith).

By contrast, the six songs covered during the show received generally favorable reviews, with the most praise going to "Dog Days Are Over" and "Valerie" as performed by New Directions, and "Hey, Soul Sister" as sung by the Warblers.

At club director Will Schuester's (Matthew Morrison) behest, Puck (Mark Salling) attempts to recruit his football teammates, but they lock him in a port-a-potty.

She accepts, and suggests he consider featuring other club members instead of his usual choices, co-captains Finn Hudson (Cory Monteith) and Rachel Berry (Lea Michele).

Despite much backstage drama, the New Directions set goes smoothly, with Quinn and Sam performing "(I've Had) The Time of My Life" and Santana singing lead on Amy Winehouse's cover of The Zutons' "Valerie"; Brittany and Mike receive several bursts of applause for their dancing.

New Directions performs Florence and the Machine's "Dog Days Are Over" to celebrate the club's competition survival, with Tina and Mercedes (Amber Riley) singing lead.

[6] Recurring characters in this episode include glee club members Mike Chang (Shum) and Sam Evans (Overstreet), school bullies Dave Karofsky (Max Adler) and Azimio (James Earl), Stamos as Howell, and Criss as Blaine Anderson, lead singer of the Warblers.

[10] "Special Education" features cover versions of six songs: "Don't Cry for Me Argentina" from the musical Evita, Mike + The Mechanics' "The Living Years", Train's "Hey, Soul Sister", "(I've Had) The Time of My Life" from the film Dirty Dancing, "Valerie" by The Zutons (although specifically a cover of the version by Mark Ronson featuring Amy Winehouse), and Florence and the Machine's "Dog Days Are Over".

[11][12] Each song was released as a single, available for digital download, with two separate versions of "Don't Cry for Me Argentina" released—one by Chris Colfer (Kurt) and the other by Lea Michele (Rachel).

It received a 4.6/13 Nielsen rating/share in the 18–49 demographic,[16] and attracted over 11.68 million American viewers during its initial airing, and thus won its time slot despite airing simultaneously with network specials, including Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer on CBS, Christmas In Rockefeller Center on NBC, Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas and Shrek the Halls on ABC, and CW's usual offering, One Tree Hill.

[20] Aly Semigran of MTV was similarly laudatory, and said that the show was "back in top form"; she added that the episode "felt very reminiscent of the magic the first season provided".

Club and the Houston Chronicle's Bobby Hankinson both liked the episode—VanDerWerff gave it a "B+"—but they, like Erica Futterman of Rolling Stone who was less complimentary, were disappointed that it failed to measure up to the last time New Directions competed in Sectionals.

[26] Futterman merely remarked on Sue's non-appearance in passing; she came to the conclusion that "we got a spazzy, unfocused hour at the expense of emotional investment", and though Anthony Benigno of the Daily News complimented the "solid acting", he also wrote that "this is the first time the show's started to feel genuinely boring as opposed to, you know, gleeful.

"[25] Poniewozik wrote that Rachel's "silent reminder to Kurt to smile on stage was a perfect, sweet little moment", a sentiment shared by Tim Stack of Entertainment Weekly.

[22][29] Poniewozik also noted that "Lea Michele had some of her strongest non-singing moments of the season by showing not just how Rachel dealt with her problems with Finn but with being on the periphery of the group.

There was near-universal approval for the first song heard, "Don't Cry For Me Argentina", which Stack called "totally beautiful" and gave an "A−"; he, like Burns, who said it was "fantastic", loved having "Rachel and Kurt get a chance to sing together".

[30] Futterman noted that Rachel, as is usual with her "power ballads", "uses the time to grapple with the latest obstacle to her future stardom, while we see Kurt deliver a clear, restrained take.

[25] Benigno called Michele's voice "astounding", and added that her solo alternated "with Kurt's audition with the Warblers, which is predictably outstanding", and gave the song a "B+".

[20] Berk gave it five stars of five, his best grade for the episode, and called it "oozy, curdling perfection", while Reiter was the least impressed, and wrote that their "voices (and romantic interplay) seemed wan and thin.

"[26][31] The New Directions closing number at Sectionals, "Valerie", received the most commentary, with Santana's solo given enthusiastic praise, though Brittany and Mike's dancing was also lauded.

With an on-spot rendition of Mark Ronson/Amy Winehouse's 'Valerie,' and wearing a Snooki bun, Santana was electrifying behind the mic, in an energizing display that revved up the audience", and added, "Brittany and Mike's pas de deux rocked".

"[30] In Semigran's view, "From the cute choreographed claps to the unconventional (but oddly fitting) choice to have Tina and Mercedes sing the tune, I wish they'd save this one for regionals.