Ignoring the adequacy of floors and item gradients for tests used with young children can have serious consequences. Thus, because of the importance of early intervention for reading and math problems, we used the criteria suggested by Bracken for adequate floors and item gradients, and reviewed 15 reading tests and 12 math tests for ages 4-0…

Despite the importance of early intervention for most disorders to minimize potential deleterious lifetime effects for the individuals concerned, there is currently no universally accepted protocol for the early screening, identification, and assessment of specific learning disabilities, and no consistent age at which initial diagnosis occurs. In…

Traditional standardized, norm-referenced assessments are used most often to determine children's eligibility for specialized services. These traditional tests have at least two drawbacks: (a) test items and activities often do not reflect children's functional repertoires; and (b) outcomes are difficult to link directly to goal development,…

Objectives: Within a strong interdisciplinary framework, improvement in the quality of care for children with autistic spectrum disorders through a 2 year implementation program of Practice Parameters, aimed principally at improving early detection and intervention. Method: We developed Practice Parameters (PPs) for Pervasive Developmental…

As part of the Combating Autism Act of 2006, the members of the Interagency Autism Coordinating Committee (IACC) are required to develop an annual "Summary of Advances" to describe each year's top advances in autism spectrum disorder (ASD) research. These advances represent significant progress in the early diagnosis of ASD, understanding the…

The National Child Count of Children and Youth who are Deaf-Blind is the first and longest running registry and knowledge base of children who are deaf-blind in the world. It represents a 25 year collaborative effort between NCDB, its predecessors and each state deaf-blind project throughout the country, as well as those projects funded in the…

Because children who are deaf or hard of hearing are being identified at birth, fitted with advanced hearing technology, and enrolled in early intervention programs, families increasingly seek professionals who can provide services that support their choice of listening and spoken language. The increased demand for these services and shortages of…

Using multilevel models of data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study-Kindergarten Cohort (N = 20,356), the authors find that parental involvement in education partially mediates the association between family poverty and children's math and reading achievement in kindergarten, but differences exist across race. In Asian families, poor and…

"Kids Count in Colorado!" is an annual publication of the Colorado Children's Campaign, which provides the best available state- and county-level data to measure and track the education, health and general well-being of the state's children. "Kids Count in Colorado!" informs policy debates and community discussions, serving as…

Many educators, parents, and policymakers continue to call for reforms to the California High School Exit Exam (CAHSEE), citing concern about the 10 percent of California students who do not graduate because of their failure to pass the test. By law, current funding for tutoring those at risk of failing the CAHSEE is targeted at those in grade 12…

Babies need good health, strong families, and positive early learning experiences to promote their healthy intellectual, social, and emotional development. However, as the poverty rate for children under age 3 continues to increase, a rising number of young children are going without these supports. The federal Early Head Start program (EHS) was…

Written by leading special education researchers with the National Research Center on Learning Disabilities and the University of Kansas, this comprehensive yet accessible reference provides administrators with practical guidelines for launching RTI in their schools. Highlighting the powerful role that RTI can play in prevention, early…

The Higher Education Center's 2002 publication "Preventing Violence and Promoting Safety in Higher Education Settings: Overview of a Comprehensive Approach," outlines a framework for addressing a broad array of violence issues in college and university communities. This document outlines specific considerations in applying this approach to the…

Purpose: The sharp increase in the number of international adoptions in the United States has prompted a heightened interest in the language development of internationally adopted children. Although recent studies have investigated the early language development of adoptees, little is known about the school-age language and literacy skills of…

This study examined the role of family cultural values as moderators of the association between family relations and the adjustment of young children. Fifty-five families of Mexican descent with young children enrolled in Head Start programs in the Southwest participated. Mothers provided information about closeness of the mother-child…