The Special Program Responding to Intellectual Needs of Gifted designed an assessment and intervention process similar to special education programs. Individual objectives and activities were written based on present functioning. Three years of implementation produced change in excess of chance and maturational projection in 22 of the 26…

The Individualized Education Program (IEP) becomes a management tool when it is used to administer programs proactively. The IEP can have an impact upon program effectiveness and student competency development when a systematic process of assessment, goal setting, planning, and evaluation is followed. (SK)

All students, including students with disabilities, must be included in state accountability systems as required by law. In April 2007, federal regulations provided states the flexibility to offer another assessment option--an Alternate Assessment based on Modified Achievement Standards (AA-MAS) for some students with disabilities. The AA-MAS is…

This publication addresses basic issues related to the concept of transition as it is applied to students with disabilities in California. Following a pretest (and its answer key), the document uses a question and answer format to discuss common concerns about transition, normalization, the school role, the "Bridges" model developed by…

Summarized in this report are the efforts, accomplishments, and recommendations of personnel involved in a pilot program designed to teach educable mentally retarded (EMR) students key punch operation. Participating in the study initially were 18 high school students from Platt and Maloney High Schools. Instruction was given to each group by a…

Focusing on program development and evaluation, this document presents the summative evaluation of the community development component of the Mountain-Plains Career Education Model IV, a residential, family-based education program developed to improve the economic potential and lifestyle of selected student families in a six-state area. The report…

This evaluation of 9 months of the first year of the federally funded Utah Manpower Development and Training Act Skills Center with 89 enrollees examines the program's effectiveness by means of a literature review, personnel interviews, preparation of training program objectives, and the utilization of these objectives as success criteria for the…

This paper presents the designs underlying an IPI approach to ninth grade science implemented in the Jamesville-DeWitt schools in New York State. Briefly described are the generalizable instructional model, evaluation systems for assessing individual performance and the effectiveness of the instructional program and the support systems which make…

When teachers direct professional growth activities, learning is more meaningful and effective. But how can a program capitalize on this fact while remaining focused on larger school and district performance goals? Individualizing Professional Development explains how to satisfy both individual needs and preferences of teachers and organizational…

This document presents a seven-step process to be used in developing a standards-based Individualized Education Program (IEP). Each step is followed by guiding questions for the IEP team to consider in making data-based decisions. Two student examples are provided to illustrate application of the components of a standards-based IEP. The student…

This study determined the effectiveness of Kindergarten Peer-Assisted Learning Strategies (K-PALS) for students with disabilities. The researchers randomly assigned 89 kindergartners with individualized education programs (IEPs) from 47 classrooms to control (n = 9); K-PALS Level 1 (teachers received 1-day workshop; n = 19); or K-PALS Level 2…

This final report describes objectives, activities, and outcomes of a project to provide training to infant specialists employed within a total of 16 infant intervention programs in New York State. The project focused on the acquisition of skills necessary to provide services under Public Law 99-457. Training content and procedures were derived…

In the United States, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (2004) mandates functional assessment based behavioral support plans for all students with disabilities who display challenging behavior. However, very few studies have been undertaken to examine the effectiveness of the functional assessment-based behavioral plans with high…

An impact analysis of the Vocational Opinion Index Transition System (VOITS) was conducted by studying the first six months of its implementation at a Minneapolis vocational training center. (The VOITS program provides skills training personnel with an early diagnosis of an individual's "Job Readiness Posture" and guidelines for the…

These two newsletter issues of the National Transition Alliance (NTA) for Youth with Disabilities present articles concerning the transition of youth with disabilities from school-to-work (STW) and related informational items. The first issue contains the following articles: "Bringing a Complicated System into Harmony" (focus on the…