This paper describes the purpose and rationale of a "talent search" effort to identify gifted students through use of off-level testing. Three components are stressed: diagnosis and evaluation of domains and levels of talent; educational placement and guidance; and talent development opportunities. Research supporting the talent-search…

Summarizes lessons learned by the child welfare system in dealing with HIV/AIDS: extended families want to care for their own; family placements are preferable; secrecy exacerbates stigma and isolation; adolescent needs must be considered; focus on living with HIV; HIV affects total family; service provision must be culturally sensitive,…

Considers the problems of teaching children at widely differing stages of development in the same class. Compares European practices of holding back slow developers with the English practice of strict age placement. Suggests that European methods reduce the need for individual instruction and increase the learning of the class as a whole. (DSK)

A study of 83 children (ages 10-18) with behavior disorders in seven types of programs (parent training programs, outpatient clinic, family preservation programs, treatment foster care, residential group home, acute-care shelter, and inpatient psychiatric hospital) found a high level of correspondence between program restrictiveness and severity…

Oklahoma administrators and counselors were interviewed concerning their perceptions about placement and facilitation of students with special needs in school-to-work programs. Accommodations were often offered through educational enhancement centers in vocational schools. No specific vocational-technical programs were geared to special needs…

The Teacher's Report Form (TRF) was investigated over 3 years for its practical ability to track outcomes in 89 elementary students with emotional disturbances. The students whose placement changed to less restrictive settings demonstrated significant improvement on consecutive TRF's in academic performance, classroom functioning, and aggressive…

A study involving 6 undergraduates enrolled in a birth through kindergarten licensure program, examined the development of preservice teacher beliefs about inclusion. Students held positive beliefs about inclusion, although they had reservations whether meeting the needs of each child could always take place in inclusive settings. (Contains…

Explores the possibilities of full inclusion for students with disabilities by responding to myths that block thoughtful and comprehensive implementation (for example, that there is no research or data, segregation is not inherently a problem, special educators are extinct, special services require special places, and other children's education…

Updates a 1993 article describing two successful full-inclusion cases involving disabled students. In a 1994 case, a disruptive junior high student with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder and Tourette Syndrome was placed temporarily in an off-campus, self-contained program. The Ninth Circuit Court affirmed the trial court's decision…

Gender-related differences in participation in and scores on the College Board's Advanced Placement and Achievement examinations were studied for the years 1982 through 1992. There was little change in patterns of examination participation, and patterns of sex differences in scores were generally stable, with some evidence of difference narrowing.…

Employed an experimental research design in evaluating intensive family preservation services to reunify families after out-of-home placement. Found significant difference between the treatment group and control group in terms of family reunification, and mixed findings in terms of family functioning. Discusses research design with implications…

Transition courses for licensed practical nurses moving into associate degree programs and for registered nurses earning bypass credit in bachelor's degree programs was evaluated through surveys of 237 students and graduates, 68 supervisors, and faculty. Students invested half the time and money as regular students; they wanted better advisement…

Provides a theoretical analysis of tracking and attempts to explore the impact of this educational structure on student achievement and affective development. Explains the inconsistency in research findings supporting and discouraging use of tracking and concludes that tracking does indeed place minority groups at a disadvantage. (SLD)

Reviews 4 key intervention strategies for students at risk: (1) Sorting (of students into homogeneous subgroups); (2) Supporting (of students dealing with life's problems); (3) Connecting (of students with each other and the institution); and (4) Transforming (of students and the institution). (50 references) (JDI)

Reports on a statistical analysis of the determinants of success among more than 300 graduate students who applied for admission to a particular "top five" university economics department. Explains that the job placements of the students after nine years were used to measure the graduate students' success. (CMK)