The report presents findings from a 5-year investigation of teaching strategies and their effects on learning stages in severely handicapped students. Learning records of most of the students were found to resemble those of nonhandicapped learners, although some students demonstrated erratic variations in performance due to compliance problems. In the third project year decision-rules were formulated to help teachers identify problems in acquisition, fluency building and compliance from the students' performance records. Effectiveness of teachers who used the decision-rules was analyzed in terms of improvements in pupil performance and/or rate of progress. In year 4, teachers applied a revised set of decision rules based on questions concerning pupil data. Problems with noncompliance in children were noted and interventions attempted. Decision-rules were integrated with a minimum acceleration procedure in which the teacher specifies a minimum rate of change. Year 5 activities examined the learning of the decision-rules by 81 teachers in a wide variety of settings with varying amounts of training and assistance. Adoption of the rules resulted in successful decisions and reduced planning time. Cost data were also examined. Four site reports are presented in the document's conclusion. (CL)