This report describes the findings of two half-day focus group meetings that discussed experiences and concerns about the participation of students with disabilities in Minnesota's Basic Standards Exams. The focus groups included test coordinators, general classroom teachers, and special education teachers. The report discusses: (1) experiences…

This collection of readings is intended to provide a source book on best practices in staff development in higher education within a British context. The 13 papers are grouped into three parts: part 1 presents the educational development tradition which has focused on development of staff as teachers; part 2 considers development of staff in…

The Saturday Writing Workshop Course, a project of The New York Public Library, targeted Adult Basic Education (ABE) students who are unable to attend classes during the week and who are inexperienced writers who are closed out of traditional literacy/ABE programs because they have advanced reading skills. The project served a community of over…

As a result of hostile climates for homosexual/bisexual students, dropout rates, substance abuse, homelessness, isolation, and identity problems are growing rapidly. Recent court decisions hold educators and schools responsible for the safety and education of these youth. However, there is no consensus on how to teach such controversial issues to…

The consequences of the end of minority preferences in the University of California (UC) schools of law and medicine are explored. The first students admitted into these graduate schools on a colorblind basis will begin classes in the fall of 1997. None of these students received a racial preference in admission, as a result of a 1995 decision by…

Public deliberation, sometimes called deliberative democracy, offers alternatives to what are often adversarial governmental debates and hearings. This paper provides a case example of applying the deliberative democracy process to development issues and an analysis of data comparing the effectiveness of the process for creating a consensus for…

This book is designed to give planners of open and distance learning programs the technical information needed to determine the cost of programs and analyze the behavior of costs. The following are among the topics discussed: budgets; classification of resources (human resources, premises and accommodation, and equipment and furniture); a basic…

This paper compared the performance of 22 seventh-grade controls in a traditional special education program with at least one period of resource room instruction to the performance of 22 students in a supportive inclusionary model program. In each group, there were 17 students with learning disabilities and 5 students with behavior disorders.…

The mobile lifestyle and fragmented education of migrant secondary students creates a need for innovative solutions that will enable them to graduate from high school. This handbook was developed to assist Texas school district operations and state and interstate educators in the coordination and delivery of instructional and support services for…

As the adoption of inclusive practices moves growing numbers of deaf and hard-of-hearing students into the regular classroom, rural schools are challenged by the low incidence of hearing impairments and the need for collaboration between regular and special educators. An innovative solution that incorporates professional and interpersonal…

This module, which may be used as the basis for a workshop or as a special topic unit in an adult basic education or English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) course, focuses on support systems for injured workers. The following items are included: module overview; list of basic, thinking, interpersonal, information utilization, and other skills…

Community-based organizations (CBOs) can help students gain a broad understanding of the relationship between education, work, and community. CBOs are frequently able to expand the scope of school-to-work by providing opportunities for young people to address community issues and by incorporating a unique youth perspective into the development of…

This report examines issues concerning the participation of students with disabilities in state and district assessments and offers principles and recommendations for increasing their participation. This report suggests that 85 percent of students with disabilities could participate either in the regular assessments or by using accommodations and…

This report reviews the current literature (mostly since 1993) on testing accommodations for students with disabilities, with an emphasis on studies examining the effects of testing accommodations on the technical integrity of assessment measures. The report notes a continuing lack of empirical research on testing accommodations, but evidence of…

This digest examines community college transfer and articulation and presents suggestions for more effectively meeting the needs of students. Community colleges should provide a base of education, vocational or general, which enables students to transfer successfully to a four-year institution, reenter the workforce, and/or advance their careers.…