Parent and teacher ratings of 141 middle-school children were collected using the Revised Behavior Problem Checklist. Pearson correlation coefficients indicated a low degree of relationship between parent and teacher ratings. The lack of agreement in identifying children as either mildly deviant or highly deviant suggests rating subjectivity.…

A survey of 323 studies in behavioral disorders/emotional disturbance was conducted to determine the nature and prevalence of identification criteria to select subjects. Findings revealed a divergent picture of the nature of prevalence of behavorial disorders/emotional disturbance, and a lack of consensus regarding standard identification…

Comparison of results of using the Revised Behavior Problem Checklist to identify mild or highly deviant behavior in 95 children (grades 3 through 6) by two regular education teachers of each child indicated little agreement between teachers. (Author/DB)

Because children with learning or behavior disorders tend to have multiple difficulties, assessment should include the areas of inner control, intersensory integration, reasoning, emotional adjustment, social adjustment, and developmental and social background. (DB)

The survey of 175 Florida teachers of the emotionally handicapped (EH) found that five characteristics were thought to be descriptive of mildly disturbed children and five were thought most descriptive of severely disturbed children, while no consensus was obtained with regard to the moderately disturbed category. (Author/DLS)

The position paper of the Council for Children with Behavioral Disorders critically reviews objections to special education service for children with conduct disorders and concludes with a series of recommendations for improving the assessment and identification of all children with behavioral disorders. (DB)

A discriminant analysis of characteristics of students with behavioral disorders in three progressively more intensive placements indicated that age at time of diagnosis was the strongest discriminating variable contributing to placement outcomes. Younger, brighter students tended to be mainstreamed, and older students with more externalizing…

Three studies are reported addressing the reliability of the Scale for Assessing Emotional Disturbance (SAED), a standardized, norm-reference measure linked to the federal definition of emotional disturbance (ED). Results indicate the SAED possesses acceptable test-retest reliability and reasonable interrater reliability and can assist in the…

Discusses hypotheses and methodologies needed to extend understanding of the ethnic representation of students with serious emotional disturbances. Technical methods are discussed to ensure that estimates for the extent of disproportionate representation are accurate. Research needed to produce better conceptual understanding of why…

The study compared states identifying either many or few students as behaviorally disordered on the variables of (1) average per pupil expenditure, (2) size of minority population, (3) number of students identified as learning disabled. No significant differences between the two groups of states were found for the three variables. (Author/DB)

The prevalence of learning disabilities (LD) was studied in 233 students (ages 6-16) newly identified with behavioral disorders. Overall, 53.2 percent met at least one LD definition, ranging from 15.9 percent for low achievement to 42.9 percent for regression. Almost one-quarter showed overlapping between low achievement and discrepancy…

The article discusses the issue of public school responsibility for the governance of early childhood education intervention programs for handicapped children. (Author/DLS)

The position paper discusses issues surrounding definition and identification procedures used for students with behavior disorders. Five recommendations address the need for revision of the federal definition, elimination of arbitrary exclusions, focus on sources of data collection, alternative models of service delivery, and priority needs for…

Discussed are practices used in Nevada to differentiate students who are conduct disordered or socially maladjusted from those who are seriously emotionally handicapped. Programs for students with conduct disorders are described, and implications of Nevada's approach to serving the behaviorally disordered are considered. (DB)

The article presents a brief synthesis of several key conceptual and methodological concerns related to the identification of psychoeducational problems in childhood, along with some ethical perspectives and conclusions regarding the state of the art. (Author)