Offers suggestions for identifying and instructing the verbally gifted. (JL)

Defines and discusses instructional games in terms of their uses in education. Nine categories are suggested for assessing games: instructional development, skills development, perceptual development, development of social awareness, pupil's readiness, use, design quality, adaptability, and flexibility and validation. (MS)

Reviews a federal court ruling in Florida stating that minimum competency tests must be fair--that is, they must cover material that has actually been taught. Unfair tests used to determine eligibility for graduation violate the equal protection and due process clauses of the Constitution. (Author/WD)

The document is comprised of the Early Language and Literacy Classroom Observation (ELLCO) Toolkit, a field-tested observation packet to examine literacy and language practices and materials in prekindergarten through third grade classrooms, and a user's guide providing technical information and instructions for administration and scoring the…