This article tackles the debate on general intelligence tests versus specific skills assessment as predictors of academic performance. In a Minneapolis study, a wide range of tests were given to 355 preschoolers. Results from a test assessing early reading skills more closely predicted actual third grade reading achievement than did results from…

Provides a critical and detailed evaluation of Jeannie Oakes book "Keeping Track." The thesis of the book is that educational inequities are caused by tracking. The author of this review does not agree with that thesis, pointing out that grouping of gifted students for instruction in advanced curriculum produces positive student gains.…

An historical overview of events leading to the passage of Public Law 94-142 (The Education for All Handicapped Children Act) precedes a discussion of positive and negative outcomes of this legislation since its enactment in 1975. (JW)

A study of the use of General Educational Development (GED) Test scores for community college English and reading course placement found that the scores were adequate enough predictors of success to be used for that purpose, eliminating the need for additional costly testing. (MSE)

Policy issues for early childhood special education programs in the areas of exit decision-making and follow-up procedures were generated through extensive naturalistic case studies of four early childhood education programs. Guidelines for exit decision-making and follow-up procedures conclude the report. (Author/DB)

Evaluated the psychoeducational reports of children (N=205) who were referred to the University of California at Los Angeles Neuropsychiatric Hospital for evaluation of academic achievement problems. Identified a medical factor, a school history factor, and a family factor. Found that the variable that allowed for the greatest accuracy in…

Results of interviews with 35 low-income parents indicated: that most had positive feelings about special education; that most lacked information essential for making informed decisions regarding placement; and that parents of learning disabled children perceived their children differently than parents of mentally retarded children. (Author/DB)

Examines language use in school contexts to address the relationship between power as a feature of social structure and power as an interactional process (the macro-micro issue in sociology). Illustrates the way in which political, economic, and legal considerations exert constraining influence on social interaction. (MM)

Reviews briefly the research on achievement effects of the following: (1) ability-grouped class assignment; and (2) student grouping alternatives that would accommodate learning differences among students. Discusses instructional effectiveness of those alternatives and their potential impact on segregation. (PS)

The study examined motives and decisions of 74 German parents of handicapped children in choosing different preschool settings. Results indicated that choice of an integrated or segregated preschool is largely determined by family background and information seeking behavior and reflects specific family needs. (DB)

The assessment of mental ability in Chicago Public Schools has been changed. The changes are because of the disproportionate number of Black children who were assigned to mentally handicapped classes. Placement decisions are now made by multidisciplinary panels which consider the total child not just the outcomes of prior learning. (VM)

Indicates that if the cloze scores of students in a small group are well distributed, then it is possible to identify which essays would be selected as best and worst by an English professor. Shows that cloze testing constitutes a relatively effective placement instrument when the readers are unschooled. Includes statistical tables. (JD)

Reports on what started out to be a survey of the use of the informal reading inventory (IRI) by teachers that revealed the technique to be embedded in a complex environment. Concludes that the use of IRIs and other diagnostic methods can be limited when teachers do not have primary responsibility for making placement decisions. (FL)

A sample of 54 risk students and 54 matched students were examined at three levels of decision making--identification, classification, and instruction. Temperament information had little or no utility with respect to administrative decisions concerning identification and classification. There were significant relationships between temperament…

The position statement defines and describes a regular education/special education initiative (RE/SEI) and offers recommendations for its implementation. RE/SEI is seen as a system of integrated planning, delivery, and evaluation of the effects of services to all students. (CL)