Intended for use in college-level secondary-education methods courses, the module contains text, an annotated bibliography, and overhead masters. The first section explains the federal definition of learning disabilities (LD), noting the difficulty of measuring many of the characteristics identified in the definition and the resulting increasing…

The validity of the analysis of variance (ANOVA) of a split plot factorial design was investigated using a complex interaction contrast with matched two-group ability data for detecting biased items. The definition of a biased item by this method is: an item is biased if there is an item-by-group interaction when there is no group difference in…

The practicum attempted to decrease inappropriate referrals to special education from parents and elementary teachers at a Louisiana elementary school through inservice training for teachers (N=19) and parents (N=43). Training focused on: (1) improving teachers' recognition of characteristics of attention deficit disorder (ADD) and learning…

Federal legislation and litigation concerning the rights of handicapped and limited-English-proficient (LEP) students is reviewed, and the dilemma of providing fair, accurate, and adequate assessment for LEP students considered for special education is examined. A recent shift from overrepresentation of LEP students in special education to an…

A general linear model (GLM), using least-squares techniques, was used to develop a criterion measure to replace freshman year grade point average (GPA) in college admission predictive validity studies. Problems with the use of GPA include those associated with the combination of grades from different courses and disciplines into a single measure,…

Project IMPACT is based on an innovative prevention/community intervention model designed to stem the use of drugs and alcohol in an Oregon school district. A total of 74 teachers, administrators, and community leaders participated in a training session which included didactic and experiential sessions informing participants about the nature and…

The guides aim to help New Jersey school administrators and staff undertake the process of developing and implementing programs for their gifted students. The first guide deals with staff development, focusing on criteria to consider when selecting teachers of the gifted, teacher training, and stages of staff development. Appendices offer…

These three volumes, compiled by the Great Lakes Area Regional Resource Center, provide information regarding state regulations for staff to student ratios and class size/caseload for special education programs. The first volume presents this information in a short form, in charts grouped according to handicapping condition alphabetically from…

Child Find is the name of a public school outreach effort to identify 3-, 4- and 5-year-old children in need of supportive services. This practicum addressed the need to extend Child Find activities in an urban setting. The goals of the practicum were to (1) expand the Child Find effort using an existing program, (2) develop a videotape about…

The purpose of this study was to determine whether the private speech of 40 kindergarten children involved in a problem-solving task differed according to gender, socioeconomic status, sociability, and academic ability. The introductory chapter provides a brief summary of the theoretical views of Piaget and Vygotsky concerning private speech.…

A teacher of gifted children implemented a 10-week practicum intervention designed to improve regular classroom teachers' knowledge, attitudes, and skills concerning the education of gifted elementary school students. The intervention was designed to enable participants to identify characteristics and needs of gifted children, develop positive…

Two modification formulas are presented for the test information function in order to provide better measures of local accuracies of the estimation of "theta" when maximum likelihood estimation is used to provide the estimate of ability "theta." A minimum bound of any estimator, biased or unbiased, is considered; and Formula 1…

The study, based on data from the Phi Delta Kappa national study of 22,018 elementary and secondary students, investigated four questions: (1) what percentage of students enrolled in regular classes possess known categorical special education labels? (2) how many of these students could also be considered to be at risk for failure in school and/or…

The study examined a group of third grade students from Kuwait, considered gifted based on their mental ability, to determine if intelligence is a meaningful predictor of gifted behaviors. The gifted behaviors studied were learning, motivation, creativity, and leadership. Three hundred students, their mothers (N=300), and teachers (N=142)…

This manual provides screening guidelines for rural preschool and kindergarten programs and describes the development of a model Early Screening Program (ESP) that involves nine child stations and two parent stations. Screening stations developed for assessment included: (1) gross motor; (2) visual motor; (3) visual perception; (4) auditory…