Alternatives to I.Q. testing have been developed in the Detroit Public Schools as a way to improve educational services and avoid the biased placement of Black students in special education programs. The new procedures involve the collaboration of a team that is specially trained to use multifaceted approaches to assessment. (VM)

Questions educational relevance of direct measures of learning such as the Learning Potential Assessment Device, assessment of biomedical factors, and adaptative behavior measures. Notes increased discrepancies between EMR and average students in high school. Suggests a generic classification for the mildly handicapped and the combining of groups…