More than five years of research offers little evidence that students who attend federally funded remedial and learning disabled reading programs improve their reading skills. The three assumptions underlying these programs are discussed. Ways teachers and schools can evaluate their programs are listed. (MT)

Provides an annotated bibliography of 13 publications, released between 1960 and 1983, which have had a major influence on the field of developmental education. (AYC)

This paper focuses on children helping children through peer and cross-age tutoring with special emphasis for programs serving the student remedial or special education setting. The historical roots of peer and cross-age tutoring are discussed. Explanations of the nature of the tutorial experience are presented, along with a discussion of the…

Thirteen children (age 8-14) with an auditory-linguistic subtype of learning disability participated for 1 year in a Tomatis Program of auditory training and were assessed in a 2-year follow-up study. Results fail to support educational efficacy of the program but do support the efficacy of less exotic remedial procedures. (Author/JDD)

Criticisms have been raised about large scale community college involvement in developmental education. A number of these criticisms seem valid, while others clearly are not. Some of the most commonly voiced concerns include the following: (1) "The community college is the wrong place to provide developmental education"; (2)…

Reports findings on the continued positive effect of remedial/developmental programs on both retention and academic performance of skills deficient students who entered both public and private higher education institutions in New Jersey. (Author/DMM)

This topical synthesis addresses the problematic issue of whether the techniques, processes, and procedures that generally result in effective, high-quality education will also achieve results with at-risk youth. After an extended introduction that raises this question, the key characteristics of effective schools are specified as leadership, a…

Analyzes factors internal to the tutor and tutee (i.e., cognition, metacognition, and affect) and external to them (e.g., teacher/tutor background knowledge, educational environment, content to be learned, socioeconomic status, family background, and cultural forces) that influence the tutoring process. Suggests a theoretical framework for…

In response to the academic needs revealed by students' reading scores and faculty perceptions of students' skill deficiencies, Sacramento City College (SCC) developed two programs of integrated skills and content instruction. Using a team-teaching format, the HELP (Higher Education Learning Package) and Adjunct programs seek improvement of…

The costly supplemental or alternative programs that combat chronic school failure and continued high dropout rates are not always effective for the following reasons: (1) students do not always find out which programs are available, and (2) if no suitable program is available, there is usually no one responsible for trying to create one. People…

The Army's Basic Skills Education Program (BSEP) was studied to consider whether it was properly designed to determine the basic skills needed in Army jobs and to be effectively implemented. Information and reports on BSEP were reviewed, and three major commands were selected for evaluation. In designing the program, the Army did not identify the…

Three types of evaluation methods are discussed in terms of their use in evaluating both cognitive and affective learning in developmental programs: standardized tests; criterion-referenced tests; and naturalistic inquiries. Section I looks at the complexities of learning and the inherent difficulties in judging the quality and quantity of what is…

The Direct Instruction Follow Through program of enhanced instruction for children in kindergarten through grade 3 was introduced in 1968 in schools serving disadvantaged students in 180 communities throughout the United States. To determine the long-term effects of the program, a study compared the performance of the first three cohorts of Follow…

A group service delivery model was utilized to treat nine severely speech-impaired preschool children. The program's efficiency and favorable dismissal rate were felt to be due to the specialized service time received by the children, the targeting of phonological patterns (rather than individual phonemes), group interactions, and a home program.…

Focusing on the debate over the need for and appropriateness of remedial/developmental programs in higher education, this volume addresses policy issues related to the provision of such programs and presents state, national, and case study data. The following nine chapters are provided: (1) "Who Should Provide Postsecondary Remedial/Developmental…