In this article, the author relates how his school beats up the post-national examination blues by staging a "May Madness" competition. The competition is like a "tournament of historical figures" wherein students are asked to debate which historical figures were more significant until they have a "Final Four" and, eventually, a winner. The author…

In this article, the author states that by granting review of the third case in two years involving the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, the U.S. Supreme Court has signaled a renewed interest in resolving legal conflicts arising under the federal law that governs services provided to nearly 6.7 million school children in special…

Integrated school psychological services were implemented 12 years ago in the Greeley-Evans Public Schools by combining the positions of school psychologist and school social worker and placing each professional in an elementary school full-time. After 5 years, services were expanded to secondary schools such that all schools had a full-time…

This study examines a process-oriented ESL writing assessment called the Computerized Enhanced ESL Placement Test (CEEPT). The CEEPT at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign or its non-computerized alternative (EEPT) have since 2000 offered a daylong process-oriented writing assessment in which test takers are given extended time to plan,…

This study investigates the motivation for learning French, the ethnic identities, and the decision to pursue post-secondary education in French of anglophone graduates of intensive French language programs in high school. Sixty-two graduates of either French immersion, Advanced Placement French, or the International Baccalaureate French program…

This volume presents the 2007 Yearbook of the National Council of Professors of Educational Administration (NCPEA). This year's theme is "At the Tipping Point: Navigating the Course for the Preparation of Educational Administrators." This yearbook contains six parts. Part 1, Invited Chapters, includes the following: (1) President's…

This article reports on inclusive education in Bangladesh for children with special needs. Bangladesh is not behind other developed countries in enacting laws and declarations in favour of inclusive education, but a lack of resources is the main barrier in implementing inclusive education. Special education and integrated education models exist in…

Rockville Centre is a diverse, suburban school district serving approximately 3,500 students. Since 1981, the school has offered the International Baccalaureate (IB) diploma. The IB diploma, which began in Rockville Centre as a gifted and talented program, is a comprehensive and challenging course of study in all subject areas. In this article,…

This is the 31st Annual Report to Congress on the Implementation of the "Individuals with Disabilities Education Act," 2009. Section 664(d) of the "Individuals with Disabilities Education Act" ("IDEA") (P.L. 108-446), as reauthorized in 2004, requires that the Department of Education report annually on the progress…

Educators across the United States continue to enable a wider and ethnically diverse proportion of students to achieve success in AP[R]. Significant inequities remain, however, which can result in traditionally underserved students not receiving the sort of AP (Advanced Placement) opportunities that can best prepare them for college success.…

The Foster Care Data Archive is a five-state database that contains foster care career histories for all children who have been placed in a state-supervised substitute-care living arrangement. The Archive was started with five participating states--California, Illinois, Michigan, New York, and Texas--which together provide services to almost half…

This practicum targeted a multi-service child and youth care agency in which lesbian women and gay men were implicitly excluded from serving as therapeutic foster parents. The setting in which the practicum project was developed, implemented, and evaluated is a not-for-profit, provincially chartered, and publicly-funded organization, headquartered…

Concerns over equity, access, and fairness of placement testing have resulted in state regulations requiring validity evidence of the placement test with respect to a criterion variable, such as final course grades. A study was conducted to assess the validity of placement tests used to place students in pre-collegiate and college-level English…

This catalog describes 22 programs selected as exemplary by the Regional Rehabilitation Exchange (RRX) project, in the areas of supported employment, job placement services, school-to-adult life transition, and independent living services. The programs are located in federally designated Region VI, consisting of Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico,…

This policy brief examines the relationship between fiscal policies in special education and the requirement under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act that students with disabilities be educated in the least restrictive environment appropriate to their needs. It discusses the effects of state fiscal policy on the provision of special…