This document provides a comprehensive list of best practices associated with effective and efficient programs for students with various disabilities: social/behavioral, sensory, physical, and cognitive and/or communicative. It is intended to assist in the design and implementation of least intrusive, chronologically age-appropriate, gender and…

This paper discusses 1997 amendments to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) that promote the inclusion of children with disabilities in general early childhood education settings. The evolution of inclusion policy is explored and changes in disability terminology are described. Amended provisions are then explained and include:…

The effectiveness of the Test of Standard Written English (TSWE) as an aid in placing students into introductory English courses was studied by relating test scores to course outcomes for students entering the University of Houston between the fall of 1977 and the spring of 1981. For students placed into the regular introductory English…

Describes the El Paso, TX/Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, metropolitan area and examines how the University of Texas at El Paso resolves problems brought about by the area's multilingual continuum. Also describes the public school system's responses to the same problems. (EKN)

The rationale behind Public Law 94-142, which pertains to education of handicapped children, is presented. Key terms such as mainstreaming, least restrictive environment, zero reject, most appropriate placement, and individualized education are discussed to clarify their significance for educators. (PP)

Investigated whether differences by sex or race existed in placement, learning disabilities classrooms, teacher contacts, assignment practices, and student learning behavior. Found differences in placement. Similarities were found in teacher treatment, student behavior, and the effects of such behavior on test performance. (Author/CM)

Handicapped and nonhandicapped students were administered the Bruininks-Oseretsky Test of Motor Proficiency to determine regular or specially designed physical education placement. Two of the three functions on the test were significant, indicating usefulness in placement. Fewer than half the test items for each function contributed discriminatory…

Issues in the foreign language placement of college students are discussed: the necessity of a placement test for all incoming students, selection of such a test from the available options, decline of student performance in the last 20 years, and articulation courses from high school to college. (MSE)

Research does not support the popular practice of homogeneous ability grouping. Students are placed in groups through diverse and questionable methods. Teachers usually instruct lower ability groups at a low cognitive level and expect little of students in these groups; poor attitudes and achievement often result. (PP)

Studied whether special education placement decisions made by teams are superior to those made by individuals. The investigation was conducted in Puerto Rico to determine the benefits of the cooperative group process. Results indicated that teams generated significantly less variability (i.e., errors) than did the same specialists acting…

Describes an experiment conducted by the English department at the University of Missouri, Columbia, in which a brief essay written at home was used to help place incoming freshmen in appropriate writing classes. (JL)

Questionnaires about attitudes toward mainstreaming were completed by 49 elementary education seniors attending University of Nebraska (Lincoln). The survey showed that number of special education classes, handicapped students experienced in student teaching, and handicapped friends and relatives can influence attitudes toward mainstreaming,…

Utilized 1961-1969 data from the Study of Academic Prediction and Growth to examine (1) why some students are placed in college tracks and others not, and (2) why track placement closely predicts future educational outcomes. Found that prior academic experience and accomplishment, especially early foreign language study, are important course…

A model for teaching physical education classes to handicapped children emphasizes individualized instruction in self-contained classrooms. In the two-stage developmental paradigm, one stage focuses on program organization with each class having its own physical education instruction. The second stage allows for the varying physical and…

Compares two types of multiple criteria models used to select children for gifted classes. Breadth models, depth models, and a more traditional Intelligence Test Model were applied to fourth graders (N=159). Results indicated depth models included more students with unusually high IQ scores and more promising underachievers. (Author)