Today's special-education programs contribute to schools' disjointedness. Programs come in several varieties, serving children labeled as at risk, learning disabled, low achieving, or gifted. Narrowly framed categorical programs may have produced too few benefits. A recent forum recommends making schools more inclusive and integrated, organizing…

Correlates of help-seeking by college students were examined in 3 studies involving a total of 1,539 students. Evidence from all three studies supports the view that help-seeking in college is an achievement-related, rather than a dependent, behavior. Active learners were more likely to seek help when needed. (SLD)

Argues that providing students with a repertoire of important learning strategies is one crucial way of helping all students to become independent readers, thinkers, and learners. Describes a third grade reading environment and the practices of the Students Achievement Independent Learning Program (SAIL). (PRA)

This study involving 113 students identified factors (attentiveness, child's level of involvement, and feedback received from the teacher) differentiating children at risk for special education referral from other low achievers and low achievers from mainstreamed special education students and average achievers. Urban/suburban differences were…

This study of self-perceptions of fifth graders found that children with learning disabilities (n=35) and children with low achievement (n=27) had significantly larger discrepancies between perceived competence and importance in the scholastic domain than 122 normally achieving children. Little evidence for a discounting mechanism to protect…

This study of three groups of students from kindergarten through third grade found that students with learning disabilities or with low achievement did not differ significantly on social skills or behavior problems over time, though both groups demonstrated more behavior problems and lower social skills than the average/high achievement students.…

Results of a reanalysis of previously published data (B. M. Byrne, 1989) support the correlated uniqueness model, diagnostic tests of the validity of confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), multitrait multimethod (MTMM) solutions, inclusion of external validity in MTMM design, and application of factorial invariance to test stability of CFA-MTMM…

Medical evaluation of seven third-grade children with developmental dyscalculia in a mainstream setting identified neurological conditions (including petit mal seizures, Gerstmann syndrome, and attention deficit disorder without hyperactivity) in all the children. Findings suggest that children who are not improving academically should undergo…

Examined the thought processes of eight third graders who were learning mathematics in a small group, cooperative-learning model that paired two high-achieving and two low-achieving students. Although low achievers were active in the learning process, high achievers tended to dominate learning activities. (MDM)

The study compared the regular classroom behavior and teacher ratings of 17 learning-disabled (LD), 16 low average (LA), and 17 average (AV) children in grades 1-2 in 11 schools before and after LD placement in resource programs. Among findings were no preplacement behavior differences and more LD maladaptive behavior patterns at postplacement.…

Large school size adversely affects attendance, school climate, student involvement. Dividing large schools into small units creates a learning and teaching context that is more stable, intimate, supportive, interdisciplinary. Kohn-Holweide, a comprehensive German secondary school, groups all students at a given grade level with the same teachers…

First and second graders (n=285) received one of three types of classroom reading programs: (1) direct instruction in letter-sound correspondence; (2) less direct instruction in sound-spelling patterns; and (3) implicit instructions in the alphabetic code while reading connected text. Results show advantages of reading programs that emphasize…

Elementary school teachers (n=68) rated 374 students on aspects of motivation for reading. Qualitative and quantitative results show that teachers perceive higher achievers to be relatively higher in intrinsic reading motivation (individual and topical) than in extrinsic reading motivation (activity-based and autonomy-supported), with lower…

This study examined effects of contextualized math instruction on problem-solving performance of 17 middle school remedial students and 49 average-achieving prealgebra students. Results showed that both remedial and average students receiving contextualized-problem instruction outperformed comparison groups receiving word-problem instruction.…

Low-achieving college students (N=94) evidenced less use of self-regulating strategies and a stronger relationship of self-regulated strategy use to positive motivational orientation than high-achieving students (N=49). Samples were predominantly white and female. Encouraging the use of these strategies may improve low achievers' academic…