This document consists of seven policy issue papers developed by the Connecticut Early Childhood Education Council, an action-oriented coalition of statewide organizations concerned with early childhood education. Members include teachers, school administrators, children's librarians, child care providers, Head Start directors, State Department of…

This brief guide outlines best practices in preschool screening for the presence of possible disabilities. It covers: a definition of screening, its history, the rationale for screening, requirements for effective screening measures (reliability, validity, fairness, utility), models for preschool screening, evaluation of screening procedures, and…

Consistent with the first of the National Educational Goals 1990 (to ensure that all children in America will start school ready to learn by the year 2000), South Carolina initiated the Pre-School Health Appraisal Project (PSHAP), a collaborative practice model based on the experiences of 4 years of project development and findings. Initiated in…

The project investigated and developed assessment tools and instructional methods and materials appropriate for adults with learning disabilities who are students of English as a Second Language (ESL). The report summarizes the project's goals and results in four areas: assessment of learning disabilities; methods and materials for teaching ESL to…

This theme issue addresses environmental risks to infants and young children. Articles have the following titles and authors: "Lead Exposure: The Commonest Environmental Disease of Childhood" (Herbert L. Needleman); "Research in Process: A Comparison of Lead Screening Methods in Young Children" (Catherine S. Rude and David…

Designed to aid in Chapter 1 evaluation efforts, this bibliography provides information about types of tests and other measures designed to assess young children. Bibliographic summaries were based on information from publishers' manuals and scholarly reviews. Criteria for including a test in the bibliography were that the test: (1) was designed…

A third volume of materials for special education resource specialists is presented concerning the resource specialist room, scheduling and grading, diagnosis and assessment, individualized education program (IEP) development, material selection, and screening. The first section includes diagrams of room arrangements, while the second section…

A total of 959 children who applied to enter kindergarten in 1986 in 6 Virginia school districts were studied in an effort to determine the relation of social class, age, ethnicity, and gender to kindergarten placement decisions, i.e., to nonplacement, placement in a regular kindergarten class, or placement in junior kindergarten. All…

Ecological case study methods were used in four early childhood special education (ECSE) screening programs to identify factors influencing outcomes of screening. Observations, interviews, file searches, and parent surveys were used to obtain multidimensional descriptions of ECSE programs, including outreach, screening, and referral practices. Two…

The purpose of this study was to investigate and identify traits describing gifted American Indian elementary school students. A large sample of characteristics was acquired from past or existing programs for gifted American Indian students, an investigative Q study, and relevant literature. The items were narrowed down to create a validation…

Draw-A-Person (DAP) techniques are often used as developmental screening measures of non-verbal cognitive ability, particularly for young children who are being screened for possible early intervention services. The validity of the interchangeable use of three DAP scoring systems for kindergarten students was investigated by comparing scores and…

The power of the Slingerland Screening Tests was examined, and a discrepant performance index was developed between cognitive measures to predict early school achievement and class placement for children at risk for specific language disabilities. Subjects were two successive cohorts of entering kindergarten children for whom Slingerland Tests…

The literacy demands encountered in schools are considerably different from those encountered in the workplace. Existing measures used to analyze literacy demands and abilities in the workplace are not suitable for analyzing the same demands and abilities in schools. Methods that are effective for general job analysis can be specifically applied…

A study was undertaken in an effort to develop techniques for monolingual speech pathologists in the Boston public schools to assess whether language behavior of Cape Verdean immigrants is due to language learning disabilities or simply to language differences. The following three questions were addressed: (1) What are some of the differences…

The goal of this research was to predict from a recruit's responses to the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery (ASVAB) items whether the recruit would pass the Armed Forces Qualification Test (AFQT). The data consisted of the responses (correct/incorrect) of 1,020 Navy recruits to 200 items of the ASVAB together with the scores of these…