This article traces the history of gifted education from multi-age grouping in the 19th and early 20th centuries to special schools and special classes for the gifted. It discusses the effects of the depression, Sputnik, the Marland Report, and the reform movement in the late 1980s and early 1990s. (Contains references.) (CR)

Because ninth grade is such a tough year for many students, some school districts have created special academies or other programs to provide special attention to students in the first year of high school. Studies show that ninth-graders have the most discipline incidents and retentions, and are most likely to drop out. In this paper, the author…

This case study covers several exploratory data analysis ideas, the histogram and boxplot, kernel density estimates, the recently introduced bagplot--a two-dimensional extension of the boxplot--as well as the violin plot, which combines a boxplot with a density shape plot. We apply these ideas and demonstrate how to interpret the output from these…

This article presents the universal design features that were identified during the alpha development of a scheduler software program, known as MySchoolDayOnline, for use in schools, and provides preliminary research on the usability of these features. The study presented here investigated the accessibility and usability of MySchoolDayOnline for…

School-within-a-school programs are an alternative school choice that can provide differentiated learning opportunities for academically gifted students, but they are often politically contentious. In a recent study, we interviewed 530 students and teachers in gifted and regular streams in three publicly funded secondary schools with different…

The authors conduct open-ended surveys of 530 students and teachers in three publicly funded schools with different approaches to providing a high-ability "school-within-a-school:" a gifted program, an international baccalaureate program, and a high-ability program with a science focus. Overall, the authors find that teachers and students in all…

With the increased public attention to a rapidly growing number of children being diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), it seems as if there is an equally rapid growth of new specialized programs catering to this group of children. The question to be considered is, if there are indeed promising models based on inclusive settings, why does…

Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) "Special Education at a Glance," which includes a copy of the "Guide to Planning and Assessing School-Based Special Education Programs," provides in a single document, information about the special education population at each Montgomery County (Maryland public school, including…

This paper reviews literature related to substance abuse and persons with disabilities. The paper distinguishes between congenital disability and trauma-generated conditions and the impact on drug use. Drug use patterns are also differentiated by type and severity of disability categories including mental illness, orthopedic and physical…

An introduction of "A Suggested Guide for Developing Vocational Programs for Disadvantaged Students" and the five criteria described for identifying the disadvantaged student are offered in the hope comments will be obtained contributing to increased usefulness of the document when it is completed. (Author/BP)

A system for evaluating the special services provided to disadvantaged and handicapped students enrolled in secondary-level vocational education programs in Vermont is presented. It was developed, pilot-tested and used to evaluate several local vocational special needs projects during the 1981-82 school year. The evaluation consists of three…

The author discusses two essential ingredients of a school program for behaviorally handicapped adolescents--the work experience program and group evaluation meetings. It is noted that these components help to provide experiences and develop behaviors that are relevant to the world of work and meet the unique needs of the young adolescent…

From a special section, "Adapted Physical Education. Also see AA 501 888, AA 501 889, AA 501 891 through AA 501 894.

From a special section, "Adapted Physical Education. Also see AA 501 888 through AA 501 892, AA 501 894.