A system-level analysis of the effectiveness of special education was conducted in an educational cooperative comprised of six school districts. In total, 96 students (grades 1-6) were assessed three times during the year on direct, curriculum-based measures of achievement in math, reading, and spelling. Analyses of student performance data were…

This study describes validation data for qualitative and quantitative writing measures useful with a full range of students, including special education students, in grades three through five. The study looked for consistent administration and scoring, sensitivity in differentiating groups of students, relation to other accepted assessments, and…

To evaluate the Curriculum for Children's Effective Peer and Teacher Skills (ACCEPTS) program, 28 handicapped elementary-aged children were divided into groups receiving either social skills training plus contingency management, social skills training only, or a control group. (MC)

Interactions and relationships emerging from 2 programs to promote social integration of normal children and children with mental handicaps were compared. For the 53 pairs participating, peer tutoring interactions tended to be less reciprocal than those of the Special Friends program patterned after a program of L. J. Voeltz and others (1983).…

A series of 5 studies, involving 10 special education elementary teachers in a rural educational cooperative, examined teacher efficiency in employing repeated, curriculum based measurement of individualized education program goals. The first study established a baseline rate of teacher efficiency; the next three studies examined the effect of…

Rural elementary school students participated in the Let's Meet the New Kids on the Block (KOB) program or the Better Understanding of Disabled Youth (BUDY) program. Based on differences in pre- and posttest scores on the Acceptance Scale, second graders increased their acceptance toward handicapped peers more with the KOB, whereas sixth graders…

A 2-year pilot program in Toronto, Ontario, used in-school learning centers (LC) to enable 60 variously handicapped students in three junior schools to withdraw from self-contained classes and mainstream into regular classes. To develop the program, a Special Education Work Group performed such activities as writing issue papers, visiting 12…

The report documents evaluation by the Office of Educational Assessment of implementation by the New York City school system of the State Incentive Grant to Improve Pupil Performance which provided training to 5,000 teachers and 3,400 paraprofessionals serving handicapped students in elementary, intermediate, and junior high self-contained…

The report summarizes a year long observational study of special education programs in one district's 12 elementary schools (Queens, New York). Data were gathered using observational time samples of teacher, student, and paraprofessional activity and student time on task; descriptive notes of the classroom context; ratings of 15 dimensions of…

This paper reviews both the content and the methodological issues involved in the small but growing number of empirical studies on the use of Direct Instruction programs and teaching procedures with special populations. The research reviewed includes experimental and quasi-experimental work, summative evaluations of entire programs, and…

This paper offers a literature review of materials concerning inclusion of students with disabilities, and reports on the 3-year development of an inclusion program at one elementary school in Texas. The literature review is organized into sections which address legislative initiatives and law, special education programs with mainstreaming, the…

Project Recurso, funded through Title VII of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, was implemented at 12 elementary schools under the aegis of the Office of Bilingual Services, Division of Special Education of the New York City Board of Education. The project provided instructional services to 321 special education Spanish-speaking students…

The Learning to Read Through the Arts program of the New York City public school system was designed to provide supplementary reading services to 3,360 mildly to moderately handicapped children in grades three through nine for three summers. The program was held in 20 sites throughout the city and was scheduled for 4 hours a day. The program was…

The evaluation of the influence of bias upon the referral, evaluation and placement (REP) process of placing handicapped children in special education programs was discussed. The representativeness of children referred for Committees on the Handicapped (COH) evaluation; social-demographic and administrative variables related to referral rates at…

This study employs a program evaluation method to collect intervention effectiveness data for a special education program designed to serve mildly handicapped students with reading difficulties. The potential contributions of effectiveness data to decision making are discussed within the context of a classification model. (Author/LMO)