Course placement systems in postsecondary education consist of an assessment component to estimate students' probability of success in standard first-year courses and an instructional component in which underprepared students are taught the skills and knowledge they need to succeed in the standard courses. Student success is usually defined in…

This paper explores the premise that children with mental and/or physical disabilities should be included in regular education programs whenever possible. Instructional strategies for successful inclusion are discussed and the need for parental and community involvement emphasized. The paper reviews the theory of inclusion; features of the…

In 1982 and 1983 the Measurement and Evaluation Center of the University of Texas at Austin conducted a set of three studies analyzing student performance in a physics course required for engineering students (Physics 303K) in relation to the students' scores on the College board Mathematics Level 1 and Physics tests and to an introductory physics…

A study was conducted at College of the Canyons (COC) in Santa Clarita, California, to provide preliminary data in monitoring for disproportional impact of placement into basic skills courses for various demographic groups. The study was designed to ascertain whether different levels of basic skills courses differ significantly for students in…

Sweeping reforms within general education have brought radical changes to traditional writing requirements at many institutions around the country, in some cases extending to the elimination of those requirements. At Portland State University (Oregon), writing is now to be the province of those teaching in the new general education program. Many…

This presentation paper reviews concerns regarding the inclusion of students with disabilities in regular education classrooms. Misunderstandings of the student placement requirements of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act are discussed, as are misunderstandings regarding the difference between mainstreaming and inclusion. The lack of…

This report reviews Federal legal requirements for including students with disabilities in general education classrooms, describes the continuing obstacles to inclusion, and provides guidance for challenging the placement of students with disabilities outside of the general education classroom. Barriers to full inclusion are identified, followed…

A method is proposed for optimizing cutting scores for a selection-placement-mastery problem simultaneously. A simultaneous approach has two advantages over separate optimization. First, test scores used in previous decisions can be used as "prior data" in later decisions, increasing the efficiency of the decisions. Then, more realistic…

This paper presents the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) as statutory frameworks for providing educational services for students with disabilities. The paper then addresses the issue of disciplinary exclusion as provided for in each of…

This study investigated the extent to which log-linear smoothing could improve the accuracy of common-item equating by the chained equipercentile method in small samples of examinees. Examinee response data from a 100-item test (the Advanced Placement Examination in United States History) were used to create two overlapping forms of 58 items each,…

In 1990, Massachusetts Bay Community College (MBCC) collaborated with six other Massachusetts colleges to assist them in using MBCC's assessment program as a model to supplement or replace their existing assessment strategies. At each associate college, campus coordinators were selected and assessment task forces were formed to identify assessment…

This digest reviews writing assessment--what it means and how it works--at a selected number of colleges and universities in the United States. The digest discusses outcomes assessment, placement testing, placement and the writing process, and end-of-course evaluation. The digest concludes with a brief reminder for college-bound students of what…

This paper examines policy options in implementing least restrictive environment (LRE) requirements of federal legislation (Public Laws 99-457 and 94-142), and offers recommendations regarding the array of placement options that should be available in relation to preschool children with handicaps. First, the legal interpretation of LRE is analyzed…

This manual is designed to help parents learn how the special education system works in Pennsylvania and how parents can use the system to benefit their child. Chapters of the manual cover the student's right to: (1) a free appropriate public education; (2) pre-evaluation screening; (3) evaluations and re-evaluations; (4) an individualized…

The International English Language Testing System (IELTS) assesses proficiency in English both generally and for special purposes of non-native English speakers studying, training, or learning English in English-speaking countries. The Speaking subtest of the IELTS measures a candidate's general proficiency in speaking in everyday situations via a…