This is a construct validation study of a second language speaking assessment that reported a language profile based on analytic rating scales and a composite score. The study addressed three key issues: score dependability, convergent/discriminant validity of analytic rating scales and the weighting of analytic ratings in the composite score.…

The transition to middle school has been a frequent research topic in recent years. The findings have highlighted both the significant risk and opportunity for school counselor intervention in the transition. One particularly important component of the multifaceted transition is course placement. The importance and influence of mathematics and…

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) of 2004 established a requirement that all States develop and submit to the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) a performance plan designed to advance the State from its current level of compliance with the statutory and regulatory requirements of the law…

This study examined the prevalence of different program models for early childhood special education services (ECSE) to children with disabilities, ages 3-5, in Iowa. The degree to which children in ECSE programs received special education services in settings with their peers who did not have disabilities was also investigated. The study sample…

This material provides an initial assessment procedure to help identify the level of basic skills competence of people entering education or training. It is based on Adult Literacy and Basic Skills Unit Standards that describe how and to what level of performance adults should be able to use communication and number skills. The material can be…

School systems face the challenge of meeting high expectations with limited resources. Reductions in operating grants and increasing expenditures have exaggerated the problem. The Innovation Network was established by the Saskatchewan School Trustees Association in 1995 to help boards of education make the best use of available resources. This…

A study was conducted to determine how best to use APS Reading Test scores for making English placement recommendations for students at College of the Canyons (COC) in Santa Clarita, California. The primary method used to establish cut scores involves comparing success rates for contrasting groups over a range of scores. The contrasting groups are…

The educational tracking system raises highly controversial issues. This book offers both the viewpoints of researchers who have grappled with the issue of tracking and the personal experiences of school staff who have wrestled with the issue of whether or not to track instruction. It presents summaries of interviews that were conducted with three…

This collection of position statements issued by the Council for Exceptional Children (CEC) addresses three issues: (1) inclusive schools and community settings; (2) physical intervention; and (3) discipline. CEC's policy on inclusive schools is to support the concept of inclusion as a meaningful goal but also urge that a continuum of services be…

In spring 1995, William Rainey Harper College in Illinois surveyed graduates from 1994 to determine their current status, the frequency with which they used cognitive skills, the degree to which they were prepared in the skills, and their evaluation of their placement in English courses. Of the 1,437 graduates from 1994, a random sample of 471…

The work of the Placement/Progress Subcommittee for the City University of New York (CUNY) system is important. The Freshman Skills Assessment Program (FSAP) comprises one set of instruments used at two points and for two purposes: at initial placement in reading, writing, and math and later at exit from remedial programs. The CUNY Writing…

This paper addresses the problem of how to place students in a sequence of hierarchically related courses from an (empirical) Bayesian point of view. Based on a minimal set of assumptions, it is shown that optimal mastery rules for the courses are always monotone and a nonincreasing function of the scores on the placement test. On the other hand,…

This discussion of inclusive education programs for students with disabilities is organized around a series of comments by critics of the trend and responses to these comments by inclusion advocates. Responses are provided to the following criticisms of inclusion: (1) inclusion is a "one size fits all" approach; (2) inclusion does not have…

This guide helps parents understand how schools assess their child's English language ability and suggests ways for them to help schools place their children in the most useful language program. All districts must decide which students to test, and then how to test them. Some schools attempt to find out the English skills of all students, and…

This paper discusses strategies that can be used in an inclusive elementary classroom to give gifted children the opportunity to choose, plan, and develop individual projects that will add meaning and purpose to their education. The steps toward providing instruction for gifted students are described, including the beginning of the year assessment…