This comment on a 1994 article by L. Fuchs and S. Deno about curriculum-based assessment questions the original authors' terminology and stresses the importance of distinguishing between "curriculum" as what is taught and "instruction" as how it is taught. (DB)

This response to a critique (EC 610 427) of the authors' article on curriculum-based assessment notes the use of an operational definition of "curriculum" in their original article and restates their concern that too many teachers believe that assessment is wedded to the specific materials of instruction. (DB)

During the early years of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), the courts generally deferred to school officials on least restrictive environment (LRE) matters and ruled in favor of more restrictive placements. Recent cases may signal that the courts may be growing impatient with school officials for not providing less…

This literature review discusses the match between tests and curricula, measurement validity and instructional utility when sampling student performance in general and advantages/disadvantages of sampling performance in the curriculum. It concludes that sampling from the curriculum is not essential and outlines three critical features ensuring the…

A survey of 483 early childhood educators from Head Start, public school prekindergarten, public school kindergarten, and community preschool/child care programs examined the extent to which representatives from various disciplines were employed. Results indicated that relatively few programs reported having sufficient related service personnel to…

This study found that a videotape instructional package (involving viewing videotapes, on-site prompting, and reinforcement) was effective in helping 3 children (ages 8-9) with autism to acquire and generalize grocery purchasing skills in community settings. Skill acquisition was rapid and transferred to other settings. (Author/JDD)

A survey of 775 early childhood intervention professionals examined their perceptions toward the integration of special services into regular classrooms. Results showed that special educators were most likely to use and favor integrated services, followed by occupational therapists, speech language pathologists, and physical therapists.…

A survey of 39 school districts serving large numbers of culturally diverse students found that many districts listed gifted students from ethnic/linguistic minorities or economically disadvantaged as important underserved populations. Alternative identification procedures were primarily intended to expand the assessment basis, and factors…

Results of a follow-up survey of 234 students completing special education services in 1978 suggested that special education programs have been influential in preparing disabled students for post-high-school adjustments in the community. Although most graduates were employed, their earnings were at minimal levels. Furthermore, most of the…

Results of interviews with 301 youth indicated that over half the sample were employed; that most of the youths found jobs through the "self-family-friend network'" that part-time or summer work during high school were predictors of percentage of time employed since high school and current wages. (Author/CL)

A two-year study assessing the stability of 1,184 elementary special education students found 71 percent stayed in special education with the same classification, 12 percent remained with a different classification, and 17 percent were no longer in special education. The original primary classification was the best predictor of reclassification…

Two highly contrasting models of preschool education for mildly handicapped children were compared. Direct Instruction led to greater gains on the Test of Early Language Development and the Basic Language Concepts test. Mediated Learning led to greater gains on the McCarthy Verbal and Memory scales and Mean Length of Utterance measure. (Author/VW)

Several exclusionary discipline practices used with handicapped learners are described. A survey of 253 principals identified the variability of disciplinary practices, as a function of geographic region, community size, principal's sex and years of experience, grade level, differential rules for handicapped and nonhandicapped students, and types…

Thirty special education teachers were assigned to a dynamic-goal or static-goal curriculum-based measurement group, or a control group. Results with their 60 mildly/moderately handicapped students showed that dynamic goal teachers increased goals more frequently and employed more ambitious goals, and their students had better content mastery than…

The study with three sixth-grade learning-disabled students found that a self-instructional strategy to facilitate the generation, framing, and planning of argumentative essays had a positive effect on the students' writing performance and self-efficacy. Effects were maintained over time and transferred to a new setting and new writing genre.…