Using tests to reform education is not a new concept. National and state education policies reflect confidence in the power of assessment to encourage school improvement. New understandings of the nature and context of student learning are shifting the movement away from traditional multiple-choice tests to alternative assessments. The emphasis is…

As part of a 3-year study to identify emerging issues and trends in technology for special education, this paper addresses the possible contributions of virtual reality technology to educational services for students with disabilities. An example of the use of virtual reality in medical imaging introduces the paper and leads to a brief review of…

This paper presents a functional approach to assessment and associated program development for individuals with severe disabilities, with emphasis on informal strategies that target beginning communicative levels. In the first section, form, function, and context (three components of any communicative act) are defined and described. Three…

The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) and the U.S. Congress have improved the quality, effectiveness, and integrity of the Job Training Partnership Act (JTPA). A basic skills improvement program funded by the DOL was implemented in two Shenandoah Valley, Virginia, worksites. Several implications for managing the changes within JTPA related…

This document provides an overview of the Regional Educational Laboratory operated by the Appalachia Educational Laboratory (AEL) during 1986-1990. AEL staff works with educators in ongoing research and development-based efforts to improve education and educational opportunity in Kentucky, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia. Part I of the…

This history of the Agriculture Development Council (ADC) consists of eight chapters and four appendices. Chapter 1 traces the early years of the ADC, from its inception in 1953 to 1957, the year of the retirement of the council's first director, J. Lossing Buck. The chapter covers the role of John D. Rockefeller, III, the incorporation of the…

The Center for Enhancement of Education organizes seven specialized centers within the School of Education and Human Services to provide faculty and students with the opportunity for research, development, and public service activities that complement and supplement classroom teaching. Each of the seven centers stresses one of the following…

It is important to bridge the gap between clinical research and counseling practice. The "I Have a Future" (IHAF) program was designed by professionals affiliated with Meharry Medical College in Nashville, Tennessee to serve inner-city African American youths identified as "high risk" for premature pregnancies, drug/alcohol…

A special education teacher's views on the 10 years since enactment of P.L. 94-142, the Education for All Handicapped Children Act, and thoughts about the future of special education are offered. Characteristics of the first years following P.L. 94-142 included an exuberant pioneer spirit among teachers, informal curricula, and lack of rigor in…

In fiscal year (FY) 1985 the Southern Rural Development Center (SRDC) was engaged in 24 major activities that responded to the rural problems of the region and supported the community development efforts of 29 land-grant universities in 13 southern states, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands. The work of the SRDC Business Management Network…

The transfer of technology from U.S. research universities in cooperation with the private sector is addressed in proceedings of a National Council of University Research Administrators conference. The first discussion session, "New Technology from University Research and Development (R&D)," examines the university research…

Fifteen years' experience of conducting politically controversial statewide research on rural/small school and Alaska Native educational issues in Alaska forms the background of this paper, which identifies practical strategies for gaining access to sites and data, developing support for research enterprises, and communicating information in ways…

The projects reviewed in this annual report of the Online Computer Library Center, Inc. (OCLC) focus on four strategic areas: (1) enhancing the use of the OCLC Online Union Catalog; (2) investigating full document storage, retrieval, and presentation; (3) strengthening the interface between patron and system; and (4) providing statistical…

It has been acknowledged that the federal government has a responsibility to provide significant support for the nation's basic research whereas the role for support of technology is less understood. This report concerns a study on the determination of the appropriate role of the federal government in technology development. Currently the federal…

The Research Institute for the Study of Learning Disabilities, established at Teachers College, Columbia University, was guided by the postulation that academic failure experienced by learning-disabled children results from interaction between the way they process information and the information processing demands of the instructional methods…