Provides strategies designed to help both mainstream and underrepresented students meet the rhetorical demands of placement exams and gain control in these situations. Describes the University of California Santa Barbara's Preparatory Program which serves a large, culturally diverse student population, acknowledges the variables embedded in the…

The article compares approaches to mainstreaming of students with hearing impairments in Spain and the United States. Discussed are mainstreaming as a matter of law, the importance of deaf role models, school placement in the U.S., integration practices in Spain, and the prevalence of oralism in Spain. (DB)

Four authors present arguments and counter-arguments on issues in gifted education, including student boredom, the atrophying of abilities not used, advanced classes which focus on ability but are out of step with student interests, problems of social adjustment in grade-skipping, etc. All authors stress the importance of the whole child. (JDD)

Findings from 83 school psychologists revealed that a typical battery for assessing severely emotionally disturbed students consisted on Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Revised, Wide-Range Achievement Test, Bender-Gestalt, an incomplete sentence test, a behavior-rating scale, classroom observation, and informal interviews. Psychologists…

Compares the comprehension skill development of capable readers in two basal reading series to the prescribed basal skill hierarchies. Suggests that teachers select reading material which has value as literature; assess readers' skills so that they do not study what they have already mastered; and match reading selections to the skills being…

Teachers of gifted children read a descriptive vignette of a hypothetical gifted student and rated their willingness to refer the student for gifted program placement. Results showed that the 197 teachers were influenced by the presence of the educational label "learning disabled" and by the social class of the student. (Author/JDD)

Outlines the negative effects of tracking on minority group students, the characteristics of beneficial systems, and alternatives to tracking. Concludes that tracking is common practice in American public education and that rigid tracking creates problems of student isolation by socioeconomic status and ethnicity. Suggests criteria for evaluating…

Diagnostic procedures aimed at labeling, selection, and placement in special schools for children designated in Germany as learning handicapped are compared with support and intervention-oriented strategies. Construction and administration of alternative diagnostic instruments and approaches such as inventories and surveys are examined.…

A discussion of special education placement of language-minority students with mild disabilities focuses on current eligibility criteria, proposing that problems in assessment, diagnosis, and placement reflect problems with larger issues in special education, especially continuing reliance on the psychometric paradigm. Reform attempts are…

Residency program directors were surveyed to determine whether a standardized "dean's evaluation" form submitted by deans of student affairs on behalf of senior medical students would suffice in conveying information desired for the residency selection process. Program directors were asked to rate each subpart of this suggested form.…

Finds that, among 544 fourth-sixth graders, Chinese-Americans identified as fluent English proficient or reclassified as such after bilingual education equaled or surpassed non-minority classmates in reading, language, and mathematics achievement scores, but showed intragroup differences by socioeconomic status, point of origin, dialect, and years…

Examines teacher practices of placing students in basal reading series, particularly capable readers. Finds basic inconsistencies between teachers' stated beliefs about capable readers and stated placement practices which are partly the result of the fear of skipping essential skills as outlined in the basals. (RS)

The paper compares current practices of identifying students with special educational needs in Australia and Scotland. Noted are problems generated by the abandonment of a category-based approach to such children. Australian and Scottish practice are also compared to United States' experience in light of Public Law 94-142. (Author/DB)

The report provides an overview of recent population figures, types of educational programs, and current issues in the education of blind and visually impaired students in the United States, Canada, and the Caribbean. Trends in early intervention, educational placement, and personnel preparation are noted. (DB)

Offers a rationale for assessing entering students writing skills. Argues that locally developed writing skills tests are more valid than commercial tests. Suggests that teachers draw on their own experiences when constructing tests, develop holistic scoring guides, and involve a broad range of educators, parents, and students in scoring the…