The article reports on 2 Minnesota Educational Effectiveness Project studies on the relationship between school effectiveness variables and attitudes/achievement of 2,604 students in general and 758 students with mild disabilities. Results did not support the idea that general efforts at school improvement will lead to improved outcomes for…

Guidelines are offered for modifying the classroom environment to develop better listening skills in children with poor listening skills. Included are general considerations about the characteristics and needs of children with poor listening skills, specific activities in the classroom to enhance skills in these children, and whole-class listening…

The study found that use of the computerized Classroom Assistant Networking System to monitor and score student responses in an elementary special education resource room substantially decreased teacher time spent on record keeping. Addition of an electronic gradebook, however, did not increase efficiency over a conventional gradebook in this…

Elementary-school learning-disabled, emotionally disabled, educable mentally retarded, and nonhandicapped students (N=122) were observed during written language instruction, to document writing tasks and student responding. Extreme variability was found in the amount of time individual students spent in writing activities or in receiving written…

Descriptive data on the initial employment patterns of mildly disabled individuals (N=66) who participated in a postsecondary transition program indicated participants (1) obtained entry level positions with varying employee benefits, (2) benefited from ongoing support to maintain employment, and (3) requested continued but minimal support to…

Thirty-nine states provided guidelines on student-teacher ratios for mildly handicapped students receiving special education services. Extreme variation was found in state recommended ratios and how ratios were defined. Ratios varied by special needs category, level of service, grade level, and age range; some states used weighted mathematical…

The article describes the Parent and Child Tutoring (PACT) program in Adelaide, Australia, with children (ages 7 to 14) having severe reading, writing, spelling, mathematics, and attitudinal problems. Both parents attend group workshops and one parent participates in tutorial sessions. The program has been positively received by both parents and…

The study evaluated the psychometric properties of reliability and construct validity of the Attitude Toward Mainstreaming Scale (ATMS) in an Australian context. It was concluded that the scale is both reliable and factorially valid in an Australian context. (Author/DB)

The response to previous articles on the Regular Education Initiative looks at the definition of learning disabilities, identification, mainstreaming of mildly handicapped students, attitudes of general educators toward high risk students, the importance of prevention at the elementary level, and delivery systems. (DB)

A consultation model for examining and selecting assessment and instructional strategies for mainstreamed, mildly handicapped students is proposed in the context of variables which affect student success (e.g., teacher and peer attitudes) and principles for selecting effective intervention strategies (e.g., how effectively a skill will generalize…

This 3-year longitudinal study used hypermedia computer-assisted instruction (CAI) to provide individualized reading instruction for approximately 300 students in grades K-3. The software provided reading lessons in a hypermedia format designed as supplementary material for a basal reader series. The low ability subjects achieved significantly…

The study compared the classroom and playground behaviors of 95 Australian elementary students with mild disabilities and 95 matched students without disabilities. Although many similarities in behavior patterns were observed, children with disabilities interacted and played less with their peers, engaged in more solitary play, and initiated more…

This response to an article by Karen Tateyama-Sniezek (EC 230 117), which examined the effectiveness of cooperative learning with mildly disabled students, reconsiders a table by adding more comparison statistics, effect sizes, and standard individual measures of achievement. Noted are the scarcity of studies including individual accountability…

Eighty-six rural students with mild disabilities who had graduated (n-52) or dropped out of (n=34) high school were interviewed twice (seven months apart) about their employment, residential status, and participation in postsecondary education and training programs. Although the majority in both groups were employed full time, graduates had worked…

This article reviews the evolution of placement litigation based on the overrepresentation of minority students in special educational programs for students with mild disabilities, provides commentaries on four court trials that have yielded judicial opinion and discusses the implications of this litigation for the reform of special education…