Among findings of a study involving 48 teachers of early childhood programs for handicappped children were that diagnostic reports should be organized by developmental or functional domains and should include suggestions for behavioral and instructional strategies. (CL)

The rationale for assessment in special education is examined, and the importance of measuring student performance until mastery or proficiency of the skill/behavior has occurred is stressed. Guidelines are offered for determining proficiency. (CL)

The "Try Procedures," a diagnostic teaching strategy used with precision teaching, provides a way to determine which teaching methods produce the greatest gains for individual students. Five steps feature initial assessment, dividing items to be taught, teaching by two or more methods, probing, and looking at the data. Comparison of two sight word…

The article analyzes existing practice in assessment and recording in the special needs field and makes such recommendations as assessment with a wider perspective more continuously to aid in making the curriculum responsive to individual needs. (DB)

Two perspectives that have influenced teacher preparation--the product (categorical) and repertoire orientations--are reviewed, and components of the repertoire orientation are applied to a set of principles that foster clinical teaching. (CL)

This paper describes a continuous evaluation system, data-based program modification (DBPM), which has demonstrated technical adequacy, logistical feasibility, and instructional effectiveness. Use of DBPM is highlighted in a case study, and the DBPM software package that stores, summarizes, analyzes, and displays a graph of student performance…

Proposed are several new directions that encourage the variety and flexibility of haphazard teaching and the precision of one objective-one activity teaching in the design of activities for handicapped preschoolers. Journal availability: see EC 133 846. (Author)

Traditional diagnostic approaches with handicapped and nonhandicapped children usually occur outside the instructional context and focus on the learner. Accurate conclusions about the learner, however, can only be reached after an adequate diagnosis of instruction. (Author)

The need for developing a technology of teaching that equals current sophistication of microcomputer technology is addressed. The importance of principles of learning and behavior analysis is emphasized. Potential roles of stimulus control and precise error analysis in educational program development and in prescription of specific learning…

This special education research brief provides a synopsis of the steps in curriculum-based assessment (CBA) and lists resources that provide more detail on the method and applications of CBA. The described CBA method involves selecting or developing a method of measurement, assessing student knowledge, tailoring instruction to student needs, and…

The article summarizes a typology of 21 selected curriculum-based assessment (CBA) measures available to early childhood specialists serving handicapped children, including normal developmental CBA scales, adaptive measures, handicap-specific instruments, strategy-matched materials, and curriculum-referenced measures. (Author/JW)

The article describes the essential features of curriculum-based assessment (CBA) and provides suggestions for developing them. Special emphasis is placed on describing how teachers can use CBA results to place students into curriculum materials, adjust instruction based on their performance, and evaluate and communicate pupil progress. (Author/CL)

Mastery learning, an approach originated by B. Bloom and based on formative testing to give the student feedback and correction, is advocated as an effective way to individualize instruction in a mainstreamed setting. (CL)

Causal modeling techniques were used to examine relationships among: (1) a curriculum-based special education measurement and evaluation system, (2) structure of instruction, and (3) achievement. All three constructs were stable over time. Teachers' accuracy in setting up student performance measurement was directly related to student achievement.…

The booklet describes the Vulpe' Performance Analysis System (VPAS), a measure of a child's progress in developmental activities which provides a link to instructional programming. In the assessment stage the child's performance is scored according to how much and what type of assistance is required to perform the task. The scale ranges from no…