The physical geography of the Los Angeles, California, area is composed of six natural regions: mountains, valleys, bays, rivers, a basin, and a peninsula. When the Spanish first explored the region they saw a fairly level plain, extending some miles back from the seacoast, with high mountains in the background. Most of the land near the ocean was…

The indigenous people of the Los Angeles, California, region were called Gabrielino Indians by the first Spanish explorers. They were possibly the richest, largest, and most powerful tribe in southern California. In 1770 there were about 5,000 Gabrielino (or Tongva) Indians in the area, but smallpox, introduced by the explorers, killed most of…

Understanding the geography of the state is the key to understanding the history of California. From the beginnings of the first early settlements of indigenous peoples, the terrain and resources of California have always influenced how people arrived and where they settled in the state. Having a knowledge of the physical setting of California is…

Presents an overview of functional assessment and career education of students with disabilities, and provides an annotated bibliography on the topic. A total of eight references are provided for background and rationale, sources of functional assessments, application of functional assessments, and model programs using functional assessment. (CR)

Discusses strategies for successful inclusion of children with disabilities in general education classrooms. Describes necessary components and practices, including cooperative learning, strategy instruction, differentiated instruction, self-determination, explicit instruction, curriculum-based assessment, generalization techniques, collaboration,…

This study investigated technical features of a curriculum-based measurement (CBM) system that addresses a concepts and applications mathematics curriculum. Six elementary educators implemented the concepts/applications CBM system, along with a computation CBM system, with 140 students, including 12 with learning disabilities. The system indexed…

The use of the Peabody Classwide Peer Tutoring (CWPT) method to accommodate diverse learners, in conjunction with curriculum-based measurement (CBM), is discussed. Peabody CWPT activities and CBM use in reading are addressed, and a case study illustrates how Peabody CWPT can be adapted based on CBM data. (SW)

This article reviews the literature on curriculum-based assessment (CBA) with students who have special education needs. Features of CBA common to various approaches and contributing most to its instructional effectiveness include teachers' evaluative attitudes and behaviors, focus and sustained attention on student performance, and facilitation…

Curriculum-based measures have been validated for use in evaluating reading, mathematics, and writing skills (Marston, 1989). Despite its common use by school psychologists (Wilson & Reschly, 1996), the relationship between the Woodcock Johnson-Revised and curriculum-based measures of writing has not been evaluated. This study investigated the…

Outcomes assessment is a process by which an academic unit defines and articulates its program goals and assesses its attainment of those goals. This article chronicles one language division's efforts at outcomes assessment for beginning and intermediate Spanish. The evidence used for program assessment consisted of WebCAPE placement scores,…

Curriculum-Based Measurement (CBM) of silent reading fluency using the maze task has been shown to be a useful tool for evaluating students' silent reading skills. No prior research has evaluated whether the source of the maze passages has a relationship with the obtained reading scores. Prior research with CBM of oral reading fluency (ORF) has…

This module represents one of several components developed to train school personnel in the Instructional Support Team Process. Its purpose is to train school-based teams to use natural assessment and intervention techniques in building effective instructional programs for students who are academically at risk. The module is based on one form of…

This guide is intended for use by college or university administrators or departmental chairs responsible for implementation of educational outcomes assessment and institutional effectiveness evaluation processes. An introductory chapter explains the guide's purpose, defines key terms in assessment terminology, and explains the institutional…

This executive summary discusses the definition of learning disabilities (LD) and how students are identified as having a learning disability. It begins by outlining four major methods that are used to compute the discrepancy-based definition of LD and the flaws of the discrepancy-based model. It then describes an approach to defining LD that is…

The students in California's classrooms live in a world of diversity. They eat unique foods, wear different types of clothes, live in different types of homes, and speak and hear many languages. This unit focuses on cultures, customs, ceremonies, traditions, foods, clothing, and shelter. These basic universal necessities of life--food, clothing,…