Summarizes ongoing research designed to generate new knowledge about the relative effectiveness of different approaches to the prevention and remediation of reading disabilities in children, particularly difficulties in acquiring accurate and fluent word reading skills. Preliminary results from the prevention study and the remediation study are…

The keynote speech notes trends and issues since passage of Public Law 94-142, The Education for All Handicapped Children Act. It also describes proposed legislation of the Council of Chief State School Officers to benefit children and youth at risk of school failure. (DB)

Describes preliminary results obtained from preventive, early intervention, and remediation studies with culturally diverse elementary students with significant reading problems. The effects of daily phonological awareness activities, a synthetic phonics approach, and explicit instruction in the alphabet are summarized. Ethnic differences in…

The report submitted by the President's Commission on Excellence in Special Education includes faulty claims and reasoning that devalue special education and hinder efforts to better meet the needs of students with disabilities. We question the commission's findings and recommendations regarding closing the achievement gap, practicing prevention,…