The retrospective case study conducted in Israel was aimed at assessing students' and parents' views relating to grade skipping. It sheds light on authentic views and decision-making related to the processes and outcomes of grade skipping. The study sample comprised students (N=5) who had experienced grade skipping at different stages in their…

This paper presents an illustration of how the regression-discontinuity design can be used to obtain an unbiased estimate of the causal effect of participating in a university remedial English program on first-year grade point average. First-year grade point averages were collected for 197 first-time, full-time university students, along with the…

No student should have to earn his or her way into the general education classroom, writes the author. The inclusive education model recognizes every student's right to be educated in the least restrictive environment, as provided under special education law. Yet many school districts still place students with special learning needs in separate…

The Dawn Project is a system of care responsible for creating and implementing an interagency collaborative approach to service provision. Systems of care are spectrums of services organized to meet the needs facing youth with serious emotional and behavioral difficulties. This study examined the relationship between school involvement in the Dawn…

This article discusses an evolving understanding of the relationship of assistive technology (AT) to student achievement. Clarifying the compensatory nature of AT and its role in creating a "floor of opportunity" for students with disabilities, the authors then emphasize the importance of AT for access to and productivity within both the life…

Educational assessment and, more broadly, educational research in the United States have entered into an era characterized by a dramatic increase in the prevalence and importance of test score use in accountability systems. This volume covers a selection of contemporary issues about testing science and practice that impact the nation's public…

In July 2006, Senate Bill 130 was passed by the Kentucky legislature. The bill amended KRS 158.6453 to include the provision that "no later than the 2007-2008 school year, and each year thereafter" the Commonwealth's assessment program shall include a high school readiness examination in grade 8, a college readiness examination in grade…

Using evidence from Durham, North Carolina, we examine the impact of school choice programs on racial and class-based segregation across schools. Theoretical considerations suggest that how choice programs affect segregation will depend not only on the family preferences emphasized in the sociology literature but also on the linkages between…

The criteria regular education teachers use to determine which students to refer for evaluation not only vary, but are also unclear. In the best interest of children, it is important to understand what leads to a teacher referral of certain students and not others. Thus the primary objective of this study was to identify the factors that influence…

The introduction of an outcomes-based curriculum in South Africa together with a new syllabus for physical sciences for grades 10-12, prompted the development of an instrument to monitor conceptual understanding in chemistry at the secondary-tertiary interface. This instrument was used to evaluate placement within different programmes at tertiary…

Originally described by Leo Kanner (1943) and recognized as a special education eligibility category by the U.S. Department of Education in 1990 (Individuals with Disabilities Education Act [IDEA], 1990), autism spectrum disorders (ASD) are characterized by deficits in reciprocal social interactions, communication, and interests and behaviors.…

Two Maryland colleges (one a four-year liberal arts college for women, and one a public community college) have worked to increase the number of graduates, especially women and other under-represented groups, in their computer science, computer information systems, engineering, and mathematics programs over a four-year period. In August 2004, they…

One of the greatest challenges that community colleges face in their efforts to increase graduation rates is improving the success of students in their developmental, or remedial, education programs. This literature review seeks to examine research on developmental education strategies and reforms and identify the most promising approaches for…

Alternative school settings for students who are identified as "disruptive or dangerous" are playing an increasingly prominent role in the world of public education, yet many gaps in the research literature are abound. This dissertation study is an effort to contribute to an understanding of the students placed in these alternative schools,…

The goal of this brief, prepared jointly by the National Hispanic Caucus of State Legislators (NHCSL) and the Tomás Rivera Policy Institute (TRPI), is to bring to policy saliency--at the national, state, and local levels--to the educational crisis caused by the under-achievement of Hispanic youth. Specifically, this report addresses two issues of…