The author begins by stating that Mark Wolery has probably done more than anyone else to remind the field that teaching children is the most important thing practioners do in classrooms and that there is research on what good instruction looks like. However, the author asserts that he has a different take on the new (although it began "a…

In this issue, Professor Perry Zirkel argues that the points presented in the Dixon, Eusebio, Turton, Wright, and Hale treatise of the Forest Grove School District v. T.A. Supreme Court case confuses "legal requirements with professional norms." Although we appreciate Zirkel's acknowledgment that our position reflects the professional…

Hunt and McDonnell have provided an excellent overview of one of the most important aspects of planning for students with severe disabilities--an ecological curricular framework that is created with input from the student, family, and needs of current and future environments. The standards-based reform-movement has created tension for educators to…

The concept of children's rights evolved during the 1980s giving prominence to the role of children as active participants in the construction of their lives. The rhetoric of children's rights has emerged as an important consideration in all policy and practice relating to children. Implementation of children's rights in practice is necessary to…

In the second decade of the 21st century, some schools are in trouble and some schools are not. The subject of this Occasional Paper is the preparation of teachers for schools that--lacking sufficient resources, effective leadership, or vocal advocates--are failing to educate their students by any reasonable measures. The teachers and teacher…

Students with disabilities should not only be members of general education classrooms, but must also be able to learn meaningful skills in those settings, not just socialize with peers. This article reviews effective teaching methods and their contextual fit with the working of a general education classroom. The response to intervention (RtI)…

This critique discusses conceptual and practical issues raised in a paper by D. Marston (EC 210 837) on choosing the most technically adequate graph for measuring progress on individual education plans. The critique argues that the Standard Behavior Chart is a technically adequate and useful measurement tool. (JDD)

This article responds to a criticism (EC 231 964) of a paper that discusses graphs for measuring progress on individual education plans (EC 210 837). It notes that the type of chart used is not a major issue; the important point is that teachers repeatedly gather data on educationally relevant tasks and evaluate intervention effectiveness. (JDD)

The authors present an approach to the assessment of learning disabilities based on a definition of significant enabling skills for school learning. Students' competence in information processing, language, and mathematics is assessed in 11 tests. By using the Assessment of Basic Competencies test, it is possible to determine a child's location in…

Describes a model, based on the "levels of use" concept, for evaluating individualized education program (IEP) implementation under Public Law 94-142. The model includes three levels: awareness, implementation mechanics, and "evolution" or realization of goals. The model is applied to 30 IEPs in a Florida school district. (RW)

Four papers address approaches to evaluate the implementation of the individualized education program (IEP) provisions of P.L. 94-142, The Education for All Handicapped Children Act. The papers are "Auditing the IEP System: A Self-Audit System for Use by Local Education Agencies" by Beth Stephens and Daniel Macy, which examines a 10-step…

The article presents an interview with Heckelman, senior clinical psychologist with the Riverside County Califonia Children's Mental Health Department, on successful remediation of learning disabilities. Topics discussed include the relationship between success of remedial techniques and lateral dominance, the neurological impress method, the…

This paper draws a distinction between evaluation and measurement, and explains the need to link curriculum-based evaluation to the development of individualized educational plans. The paper proposes a set of rules for focusing curriculum-based evaluations, such as "don't confuse the curriculum with instruction" and "only think…

A three-stage formal identification procedure is recommended to assure identification of those gifted and talented students who need alternative programing. Following identification of a student, an individual student plan, including such information as a justification for the time the student will lose from the regular curriculum, should be…

Articles concerning the special needs student include an account of how some teachers participate in the preparation of their students' individualized education programs, the effects of a teacher's attitude on a student's performance and how to put that knowledge to work in the classroom, and ways to help special needs students succeed in…