The central obligation under the Individuals With Disabilities Education Act is to provide each eligible student with a free appropriate public education (FAPE). In "Endrew F. v. Douglas County School District RE-1" (2017), the U.S. Supreme Court revised the prior substantive standard for determining FAPE that the court had developed in…

In 2010, the Institute of Education Sciences commissioned a much-needed national evaluation of response to intervention (RTI). The evaluators defined their task very narrowly, asking "Does the use of universal screening, including a cut-point for designating students for more intensive Tier 2 and Tier 3 interventions, increase children's…

The report of the national response to intervention (RTI) evaluation study, conducted during 2011-2012, was released in November 2015. Anyone who has read the lengthy report can attest to its complexity and the design used in the study. Both these factors can influence the interpretation of the results from this evaluation. In this commentary, we…

The increased prevalence of autism spectrum disorders (ASD) has intensified the need for high-quality special education services designed for children and youth with ASD and their families. Implementation science provides guidance for moving innovation, such as utilizing evidence- based practices for students with ASD, into regular practice in…

The article discusses conceptual principles which underpin development of consultation-based programing for students with mild disabilities, proposes informal standards for ecological evaluation of specific formats, and identifies factors (such as administrative support and participatory planning and decision making) that maximize the potential…

The article describes the model Structured Training and Employment Transitional Services (STETS) demonstration program for retarded young adults funded by the U.S. Department of Labor. Evaluation of STETS focused on five issues: participants' subsequent labor-market behavior, use of school and training programs, public-transfer dependence, life…

A multi-element cross-age tutoring program involved handicapped adolescents as tutors of elementary school handicapped children in areas of reading, language arts, and mathematics. Program evaluation results suggested that the program can be readily implemented in public school districts, and that it is effective in enhancing scholastic…

Presents results of a policy study of implementation of the transition mandates of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. Five "model sites" and four "representative sites" were identified and visited. Results of the cross-case analysis focus on factors supporting and posing challenges to implementation. (Author/DB)

Among results from evaluation of approximately 400 learning disabled students' individualized education programs (IEPs) were that more than 75 percent of the instructional objectives addressed basic academic areas, while only 10 percent were listed in areas relating to social, emotional, and behavioral needs; in addition, 6 percent of the IEPs…

The Minority Issues Inservice Program, a three-year cooperative inservice program regarding special education of minority handicapped children, was evaluated with 34 participants (building trainers, teacher trainees, contrast Ss). Results indicated that trainees increased their weekly mastery, made substantial and continuing applications, and had…

Impact evaluation of Retrieval and Acceleration of Promising Young Handicapped and Talented, a model program for gifted and talented handicapped preschoolers, revealed that 28 project children in three sites demonstrated statistically significant gains in self-esteem, purposiveness, creativity, and talent area functioning. (CL)

To overcome criticisms of gifted program evaluation, a university evaluation team and a public school program worked to develop evaluation instruments and procedures. The experiences of the first year of the cooperative effort are presented to illustrate the issues, problems, and benefits of such an arrangement. (Author/SB)

Examined are the roles and progress over the past 3 years of state councils on developmental disabilities, as established by the Developmental Disabilities Act of 1970. (Author/DB)