Most students with disabilities participate in state assessments with or without accommodations [based on each student's Individualized Education Program (IEP)]. A small number of students with the most severe or profound intellectual disabilities participate in an alternate assessment based on alternate achievement standards (AA-AAS). Until…

The Department Children, Youth, and Families (DCYF) is a new cabinet level agency focused on the well-being of children. The vision is to ensure that "Washington state's children and youth grow up safe and healthy-thriving physically, emotionally and academically, nurtured by family and community." (House Bill 1661) DCYF serves as the…

Since the 2004 reauthorization of the Individuals With Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), there has been a growing focus on improving the quality of programs for children with disabilities and measuring the results/outcomes of those programs. Across the country, IDEA Part C Programs for Infants and Toddlers and IDEA Part B, Section 619 Preschool…

This document is intended to assist State Education Agency (SEA) and Lead Agency (LA) staff and technical assistance providers in designing a meaningful evaluation for the State Performance Plan (SPP)/Annual Performance Report (APR) improvement activities. It provides: (1) information about the relevance of evaluation in the context of improvement…

This directory contains 338 discretionary projects addressing the early childhood provisions of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) that received funds in 2005. It was compiled from 4 volumes separately published by the National Dissemination Center for Children with Disabilities (NICHCY). The Research to Practice Division of…

This directory contains 355 discretionary projects addressing the early childhood provisions of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) that received funds in 2004. It was compiled from 4 volumes separately published by the National Dissemination Center for Children with Disabilities (NICHCY). The Research to Practice Division of…

Students with low-incidence disabilities frequently receive less than optimal psychoeducational services because the specialized tests and instructional materials required to meet their idiosyncratic needs often are unavailable due to budget constraints, inadequate training of school personnel, and the difficulty school personnel have keeping…

A study determined the extent to which the states and territories used their handicapped and disadvantaged set-aside funds under the Education Amendments of 1976 to support program improvement projects. The population of 57 research coordinating unit directors was surveyed. (Author)

This report reviews key issues and problems addressed at a national conference on transportation for the elderly and handicapped. The first section presents an executive summary, which details the following major problems (identified in the seven general sessions and four workshops): the need for more coordination of funding sources; better…

This review examined the evaluation components from 10 awarded state improvement grants designed to improve systems providing services for students with disabilities. The review examined the following aspects of the evaluation components: purposes, conceptual framework for the evaluation and systems reform, evaluation design and approaches,…

This document reports on efforts to develop an initiative to target increased involvement of the Arizona Rehabilitation Services Administration (RSA) with Arizona's disabled American Indians both on and off reservations. The report summarizes comments on important issues generated during a central office planning meeting of the Arizona RSA. It…

Articles discuss evaluation of vocational agriculture: considerations for improving local program evaluation, self-rating a program, step-by-step program evaluation, advisory council assistance with evaluation, using an advisory committee in evaluation, accreditation evaluation, evaluation programs for handicapped students, evaluating agricultural…

Measures of quality are now in widespread use across states as part of quality improvement initiatives. For example, many states are currently using global measures of quality that were first developed for research and practice purposes (such as the Environmental Rating Scales) in their Quality Rating Systems (QRSs). Although global quality…

The Statewide Planning Project for Vocational Rehabilitation Services was established by the Governor of the State of Connecticut to develop a master plan for vocational rehabilitation services. The entire state was considered and the project included citizens, public and private agencies, and representatives from professional groups. Five…

The Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction implemented, in 71 school districts, a pilot project designed to assist handicapped learners to participate in vocational education programs. The program, called Designated Vocational Instruction (DVI), is intended to improve the scope and quality of secondary-level vocational education for special…