This article responds to a paper by Rhia Roberts and Nancy Mather which questions the regular class placement of students with learning disabilities. This response contends that the current reform movement in general education provides a window of opportunity for including students with disabilities and allowing schools to restructure services to…

Describes the efforts of Mayland Community College (North Carolina) to make budget decisions based on desired student outcomes and the corresponding changes in testing and placement procedures. Reports gains for students entering after the changes. Suggests budget decisions are more effective once community colleges define student learning…

This review of legislation, including the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), and court cases concludes that IDEA does not compel placement of students with disabilities in regular classrooms but, rather, fully supports the continuum of placements. Principles extrapolated from these cases offer guidance to special educators making…

Although special units for students with emotional and behavioral difficulties are supposed to be integrated within British comprehensive schools, study of one unit revealed a complex process of labeling and stereotyping that marginalized these students, a large proportion of whom were from minority groups. (SK)

This article describes the Laptop Computer Initiative (LCI), a program in a Delaware school district to enhance referral-to-placement practices and to develop individualized education programs for special education students. The six steps in the program's development are recounted and positive results of the LCI, such as increased staff efficiency…

Examines the question of whether variables associated with middle school classroom practices and instructional emphasis would contribute to a prediction of science course placement in later grades. Concludes that what happens in early schooling does have a direct and substantive impact on later education. (ZWH)

Discusses the development of a foreign language (Spanish) test battery that was designed for two purposes: to place students in study-abroad programs appropriate to their language ability and to provide information on designing useful instruction for prospective study-abroad students. Results are presented into task and rater variability in the…

Guidelines are offered for making mainstreaming placement decisions for students with emotional or behavioral disorders. Characteristics of effective teachers of mainstreamed students are listed, and a classroom observation form and student/teacher match form are presented for use by the special education teacher in determining optimal mainstream…

Shows that students from some minority groups are much more likely to be designated for mental retardation programs than non-Hispanic white students. Blames biased testing, socioeconomic factors, and teachers' difficulties with cultural differences. (SR)

This comparison of a nationally representative sample of 269 adolescents with severe emotional disturbances and 49 nonhandicapped students focuses on subjects' personal characteristics (family structure, medication status), educational characteristics (placements, extent of mainstreaming, related services, years in special education), and…

Project STRIDE (Services for Transition to Independence through Education) included development of individualized transition plans for adults with learning disabilities; a year of full-time training; and a second year of training with transition to job placement and follow up. Interviews with 19 completers and 10 teachers found that most students…

Academically talented high school students (n=239) evaluated a three-week individualized, flexibly paced precalculus summer course as more challenging than their ensuing school placement course. Results support the use of such courses, followed by appropriate placement, as a means of meeting the special academic needs of talented students. (DB)

This paper examines objective and subjective fairness of due process hearings in special education disputes and reports findings from a study of parents' and school officials' subjective experience of the fairness of their hearings. Results showed that neither school officials nor parents felt positively about the experience. (Author/JDD)

Comparison of university students' scores on the University of Illinois' English Placement Test revealed that English-as-a-Second-Language students scored much higher on the dictation section and English-as-a-Foreign-Language students scored much higher on the structure (grammar) section, suggesting a need for cautious interpretation of such…

Curriculum-based measurement (CBM) is recommended as an efficient, objective, flexible, and reliable way to compose ability-based instructional groups in both regular and special education settings. Steps for using CBM and specific applications for grouping in reading and mathematics instruction are offered. (DB)