Examined whether there are differences between low-achieving students referred and those not referred for special education. Found that differences reflected factors external to the child: the propensity of his or her teacher to refer, family mobility, and tardiness. (Author/LPP)

Creating an equitable school environment is easier in theory than in practice. This article provides background information to help educators understand the importance of gender issues and offers concrete teaching strategies (in the areas of assessment, curriculum, school climate, and instructional supervision) to minimize gender bias. (17…

This article describes the Behavior Rating Profile-Second Edition, a rating scale designed to identify students ages 6.6 to 18 years with behavioral, emotional, personal, and social adjustment problems. The test contains a Teacher Rating Scale, a Parent Rating Scale, and Student Rating Scales. Its administration, reliability, and validity are…

This article describes the Gillian Autism Rating Scale, an interview-based instrument designed to identify individuals ages 3-22 who are autistic and to assess persons referred for serious behavior problems. The test accesses stereotyped behaviors, communication, social interaction, and developmental disturbances. Its administration,…

This article describes the Kaufman Survey of Early Academic and Language Skills, an assessment of receptive and expressive language skills, pre-academic skills, and articulation of children ages 3 through 6. Three subtests assess vocabulary, numbers, letters and words, and articulation. Its administration, standardization, reliability, and…

This article describes the Kaufman Test of Educational Achievement, an individually administered measure of the school achievement of children ages 6 to 18 years. The normative update extended the age range to include examinees from 19 to 22 years. Its administration, standardization, reliability, and validity are discussed. (Contains references.)…

The "new ruthless economy of globalization" has spawned a culture of performance in education characterized by increased demand for accountability through high stakes testing, and decreased funding. Effects include loss of teacher autonomy, focus on teaching to the test, proliferation of commercial cramming schools, increased external…

Discusses barriers to African-American student progress, persistence, and achievement in science and engineering graduate study, including lack of encouragement, bias in graduate school admission criteria, lower faculty expectations of black students, financial support and fellowship structures, lack of opportunity to become professionally…

A study compared the performance on a national licensing examination of University of Southern California dental students in problem-based learning (PBL) versus those in conventional educational tracks. PBL track students scored significantly higher in all four discipline-based portions of the exam and also in the aggregate, and scored well in…

American Indian children have the poorest academic performance among public school students. Reasons include poverty, racism, cultural incompatibility, low teacher expectations, high student mobility, lack of American Indian teachers, communication and learning differences, and cultural bias in standardized tests. New Mexico initiatives to improve…

I see much to be pleased with in Dorans' interesting response to my article, "Correcting the SAT's Ethnic and Social-Class Bias: A Method for Reestimating SAT Scores." However, I need to deal with several unstated assumptions and errors that underlie his presentation. In the process of enumerating his covert assumptions, I will take up…

We describe the psychosocial characteristics of youth with an average age of 11.8 years served in special education due to emotional disturbances in urban communities (N = 158). Data were also collected describing service utilization, academic functioning, and family characteristics. Ten schools in three mid-size urban cities participated. Results…

Accountability countability, choice, equity, and social cohesion are core parts of the public debates over the charter school movement. To examine these important issues, we utilize the "1999-2000 Schools and Staffing Survey" to estimate the possible charter effect on public and private schools. Analyses of charter, public,and private schools…

In this article, the authors describe their efforts to improve the performance of their middle school students on the Pennsylvania System of School Assessment (PSSA). As middle level educators, they knew that in addition to addressing the curriculum, they also had to address the psychological needs of their students. To administer a standardized…

Over the past decade there has been increased pressure in the public discourse for accountability in educational outcomes. There has been a growing sense that ESL students are not being well served by the delivery of supports meant to facilitate their development of English language acquisition and enable them to participate with their classmates…