The least restrictive environment (LRE) mandate suggests a preference for educating students with disabilities in general education settings provided their needs can be met there. This study examined national trends in the educational placements of students with disabilities ages 6 to 17 in the 50 states and the District of Columbia from 1990…

The incidence figures of handicapped children in a sample of school districts were calculated. During the 1977-78, 1978-79, and 1979-80 school years, four to five percent of the students were referred or evaluated; three percent were placed in special education programs, with wide variation in the data supplied by individual school districts.…

A method for identifying the possible rehabilitant or non-rehabilitant among socially maladjusted students at the time of placement in special classes was demonstrated to be possible at a level useful for prediction. (Author/KW)

Fifty primary research studies of special versus regular class placement were selected for use in a meta-analysis. Special classes were found to be significantly inferior to regular class placement for students with below average IQs and significantly superior to regular classes for behaviorally disordered, emotionally disturbed, and learning…

In response to a paper by David Sabatino (EC 051 608), the author provides data from a 13 year study of special education placement further supporting findings of the ineffectiveness of special class placement, and suggests that resource personnel can best function by providing assistance to regular teachers. (DB)

A meta-analysis was performed on 11 empirical studies of the effects of mainstreaming. Results indicated that mainstreamed disabled students consistently outperformed nonmainstreamed students with comparable special education classifications. The most success was found in programs with design features (such as continuous assessment) suggested by…

Presented is a rebuttal to six responses to a paper recommending the resource room model in special education. (DB)

The study sampled 145 elementary school handicapped children in order to compare a mainstreamed and self-contained special education program in a large urban school district. (Author/PHR)

Thirty-five studies on the efficacy of special class versus regular class placement for mildly handicapped students were reviewed for the power of their statistical tests. Twenty-one studies had adequate power to detect a large effect size but the power to detect a medium effect size was no better than chance. (Author/DB)

This study examined the effect of a self-evaluation intervention using audiotaped samples of 20 teachers' instructional behavior on the rates of praise in classrooms for students with emotional and behavioral disorders. Results indicated the intervention had positive short-term effects on teacher praise and correct academic responses by students.…

This paper describes efforts to establish ungraded classes for mildly retarded children in New York City from 1900-1920, focusing on struggles to find and train qualified teachers, correctly identify children to be served, and provide ample classroom space. The introduction of intelligence testing is also examined. (Author/JDD)