This qualitative policy study of 6 states and 12 school districts identified 6 factors that influenced implementation of least restrictive environment provisions of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. Factors included financing, the state-local context, organization, advocacy, implementors, and knowledge and values. The study…

Examination of data from the "Annual Reports to Congress on the Implementation of Public Law 94-142" from 1979 through 1989 revealed that the placement rate for students with learning disabilities being educated in restrictive, separate class settings almost doubled. The proportion of all students with learning disabilities served in…

Middle school students (n=86) with learning disabilities or emotional disturbance who participated in Cooperative Homework Teams achieved a higher rate of homework completion and higher percentage correct on homework than controls but did not perform better in mathematics achievement. Significant effects were found for grade level but not for type…

Students (n=295) with learning disabilities, ages 8-14, scored higher and had greater growth rates in 4 mathematics domains (basic concepts, listening vocabulary, problem solving, and fractions) than did age-equivalent students (n=206) with mild mental retardation. Data indicate the need to carefully consider curriculum and instructional decisions…

This article notes efforts to include attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) as a formal disability category and challenges the validity of assumptions that ADHD is a psychiatric disorder and is characterized by academic difficulties. Social and cultural factors are seen as fueling the perceived need for the ADHD category. (Author/DB)

This article presents a rationale for including self-determination in special education curricula. It describes a framework for providing choices, based on an analysis of risk and benefits, and compares assessment approaches and teaching strategies. The recommended approach emphasizes criterion-referenced assessments that are setting specific.…

This study assessed the judgments of 131 preschool special education teachers on the acceptability, feasibility, and current use of child-specific, peer-mediated, and environmental arrangement intervention strategies for promoting social interaction skills of young children with disabilities. Teachers found all three types of interventions…

This article presents the case study of a child who was classified as communication disabled but seemed to have suffered from language loss or arrested development of the primary language (Spanish) before attaining full competence in English. The child experienced a temporary delay of development in both languages but eventually mastered English.…

Systematic observation of 60 general education teachers found that teacher behaviors toward mainstreamed students with or without learning disabilities did not differ significantly. However, significant differences in student behaviors were found, with students with learning disabilities interacting with the teacher, other students, and classroom…

Comparison of two interventions on the peer social interactions of 105 young children with and without hearing impairments found that the integrated activities intervention resulted in greater gains in total positive peer interaction than the social skills intervention. However, withdrawal of either intervention resulted in decreased peer…

This response to Reynolds et al. (EC 605 232) commends the authors for refocusing the discussion from classification of students to eligibility for service but suggests that their 20/20 model may be an oversimplification and inadvertently systematize inequities of the current system, including urban/suburban differences and intraindividual…

This rejoinder to commentary on the authors' proposal (EC 605 232) for a simplified basis for determining special education program eligibility (based on local school reading achievement norms) stresses that the proposal is intended only as a first phase, to be followed by emphasis on overall program improvement. (DB)

This article introduces a special issue on technology-based assessment within special education. It notes the effects of the 1988 Technology-Related Assistance for Individuals with Disabilities Act and briefly reviews the nine papers in the issue. (DB)

This article discusses forces affecting the advance of technology-based assessment in special education, noting the improved quality achieved through merger of assessment methods and electronic technology including networking, expert systems, authoring software, and multimedia. It notes, however, that the potential of technology-based assessment…

Design details, operation, and initial field test results are reported for DynaMath, a computer-based dynamic assessment system that provides individually tailored, instructionally useful assessment of students with disabilities. DynaMath organizes and outputs student performance data, graphically shows the "zone of proximal development," and…