The Education for All Handicapped Students Act (PL 94-142) mandates a referral process for learning disabled or educationally handicapped students. To see how a local agency implemented the federal law, and to describe institutional decision making in general, the day-to-day decision making activities of educators in a California elementary school…

This report analyzes a set of interlocking placement and labeling practices that heavily influence access to educational opportunities in the nation's largest urban school systems. The practices analyzed include high school admission, within-school tracking and grouping, and grade promotion and retention. Study conclusions and related…

This practicum attempted to increase parental understanding and acceptance of the process for referral, screening, testing, and selecting children for a gifted program in a northern Florida community; to improve the self-concept of children who were not found to be eligible; and to decrease the time spent by school personnel in resolving problems…

Several studies of mathematics education have singled out the early and rigid ability grouping as one of the principal reasons for mathematics underachievement in the United States. Public schools in the United States engage in extensive sorting of students into sharply differentiated curricula by the end of sixth or seventh grade. This study…

This book addresses some of the important considerations surrounding the use of tests and assessment procedures when applied to students who are culturally, linguistically, and/or socioeconomically different from mainstream North Americans. Chapter 1 introduces the problems of using standards based on a white Anglo-Saxon perspective to assess and…

The Consortium for Institutional Effectiveness and Student Success in the Community College was established in 1988 to foster programs in support of the teaching and learning process, student retention and success strategies, and institutional effectiveness. Administered at Mt. Hood Community College (MHCC) in Oregon, the consortium currently has…

New Beginning is a transitional program for limited-English-proficient (LEP) secondary school students in Dade County, Florida whose prior school experience was interrupted or limited. The program currently serves 102 students in four schools. Most participants are Hispanic or Haitian. Students are selected by district-wide criteria and grouped in…

In spring and fall 1988, a two-phase study was conducted at Nassau Community College to evaluate two courses in the mathematics program: Preparatory Mathematics (MAT 001) and Introductory Algebra (MAT 002). Pre- and post-tests for the classes were administered to assess student learning outcomes. The first phase of the study examined aspects of…

Six policy issues emerging from a Midwest dissemination conference on the Richardson Study are highlighted. The focus is on facilitating policy initiatives in gifted education among local and state school districts. Policy statements on each of the following issues are cited: improving identification procedures; articulating goals, programs, and…

Intended for parents, this booklet lists special education programs and services for exceptional children in Michigan, and discusses parent rights in the educational system. Specifically addressed are parents' rights in the referral process, in the evaluation procedures, to an independent educational evaluation, in the Individualized Educational…

The five school systems of Louisiana Educational Planning Region V formed a consortium to establish a vocational assessment center for high school special needs students. Assessment data would be used by the Individual Education Plan committee to place students in vocational education courses. A study was conducted to rate the performance of…

The article traces the development of the concept of learning disabilities (LD) in American education from a sociohistorical perspective, prompting a variety of observations and conclusions. The scientific basis for the conceptualization of the LD clinical syndrome is weak. A clinically identified dysfunctional learning style has been transformed…

A study examined whether ACT subtest scores can be used to predict reading skills, as measured by the Nelson-Denny Reading Test, with a degree of accuracy that would support their use as a screening device for college placement. ACT test scores of 2,431 students were used to predict Form C Nelson-Denny raw scores. ACT test scores from 3,016…

Reviewing enrollment trends in federal, public, and tribally controlled schools, this report examines progress in the education of American Indian handicapped children since the passage in 1975 of the Education for All Handicapped Children Act. The first section provides numbers of Indian handicapped and gifted and talented children receiving…

This collection of abstracts is part of a continuing series providing information on recent doctoral dissertations. The 11 titles deal with the following topics: (1) teacher self-assessment and analysis of feedback to student miscues during oral reading; (2) the humor found in basal readers appropriate to second and fourth grade students; (3) an…