The use of the Test for Auditory Comprehension of Language with 299 low socioeconomic status Head Start children (three to seven years old) was studied. It is suggested that clinicians making placement decisions regarding groups that differ racially and/or culturally from the normative population consider using pluralistic assessment. (Author/SEW)

Representative adaptations currently being used to educate exceptional children are described and their effectiveness is weighed. Diagnostic-prescriptive teaching, behavioral modification techniques, lesson content modifications, and early intervention are considered, as are student placement options, such as special schools and classes and…

A survey of West Virginia institutions examined the issue of student selection for basic skills programs and resulted in development of a formalized evaluation and placement process. The procedures are outlined and a flow chart provided. (MSE)

Compensatory education students and mildly handicapped special education students would be better served by a single system meeting the needs of both groups. Student classification methods, historical, political, and pedagogical reasons for separating the programs, and alternatives to the existing arrangement are discussed. (PP)

Five legal principles (and cases establishing them) on the use of competency testing in student placement or for graduation are discussed. The principles address the constitutionality of appropriate use, adequate notice to students, prohibition of effects of past racial discrimination, graduation test validity, and requirements for handicapped…

Discusses issues arising from school desegregation, such as (1) inequality in discipline administered to minority students; (2) disparities in placement and tracking of minority students; (3) displacement of teachers and administrators during desegregation; and (4) loss of jobs among minorities due to enrollment declines and loss of financial…

Results in study 1 indicate teams spent twice as much time discussing academic information as behavioral information; little time was spent discussing physical or medical data. In study 2 nearly all of the meetings were devoted primarily to classroom data, scores on achievement tests, and scores on intelligence tests. (Author)

Addresses three major issues in the training of minority counselor education students: (1) sensitivity to client; (2) cultural differences in counseling; and (3) relationships between the counselor trainee and his/her clients, professors, classmates, and agency-placement supervisors. Offers suggestions for redesigning counseling programs.…

Discusses the benefits of experiential learning. Offers suggestions for setting up experiential programs on campus, including a system for awarding credit, community placements, faculty supervision, and a system of coordination. (RC)

The standards to which secondary vocational education is held accountable are not compatible with the broad program goals undertaken by vocational education. Vocational education should be assessed in light of its contributions to human development and its economic benefits. (CJ)

A study of Spanish-speaking elementary school students enrolled in an English as a second language program revealed a significant relationship between pupil placement status and subsequent student achievement. Methods and findings relevant to identifying schooling effects and linking these to school practices, and study of bilingual programs are…

Results showed that the labeling process does not lead diagnosticians to place children in more restrictive educational programs. A comprehensive assessment-intervention-follow-through model that minimizes the potential dangers and abuses of labeling is proposed. (Author)

Focuses on problems with current referral-to-placement procedures that require a student to be found eligible for special education services before serving the student. Federal and state education agencies are urged to collaborate to support partnerships between special and general education to provide better outcomes for all students. (CR)

Maintains that intelligence tests contribute little to the planning, implementation, and evaluation of instructional interventions for children. Suggests that intelligence tests are not useful in making differential diagnostic and classification determinations for children with mild learning problems and that such testing is not a cost-beneficial…

Four grade-9 mathematics teachers in Canada were studied over one year as they implemented destreaming (detracking), which was an externally induced reform in their school system. Implementation of the destreaming had an immediate negative effect on teacher expectations of their own efficacy, but their beliefs rebounded over the year. (SLD)