Individuals with Pervasive Developmental Disorders (PDD) have social competence impairments that can result in negative adult outcomes. Despite considerable research on social skills training, little is available to evaluate these programs. This study describes the development, administration, and utility of a progress-monitoring tool for…

This multi-method case study of a Greek vocational school explored teachers' culture (including beliefs about education, teachers' role, and students' nature) using the concept of pupil control ideology to explain problems of disengagement and low morale among staff and students, as well as tensions in relationships. A prominent custodial culture…

The authors examined the extent to which classroom teachers in naturalistic settings used a Goal-Setting Tool to set instructional goals for struggling students, the kinds of goals they set, their progress monitoring practices with and without goals, and the extent to which students gain more when a goal-setting tool is used. The goal-setting tool…

The Chicago Public Schools' (CPS) vision is that every student graduates from high school prepared for success in college, career, and life. To help the city reach that goal, the To&Through Project is providing data that track the progress of students in Chicago and identify where students are falling off the path to college degree attainment.…

Improving foundational academic skills for elementary level students continues to be a challenge for classroom teachers. This study implemented weekly progress monitoring procedures using curriculum-based measurement assessments in conjunction with weekly individual student-teacher graphing and goal-setting conferences to determine the effect the…

The law requires that juvenile justice facilities must provide education to all school-age students, and these facilities often do so despite challenges that would baffle most high school administrators and teachers. This "Adolescent Literacy Guide" provides guidance to both administrators and teachers who want to increase opportunities…

This article describes the development and validation of the Developmental Snapshot, a 52-item parent questionnaire on child language and vocal communication development that can be administered monthly and scored automatically. The Snapshot was created to provide an easily administered monthly progress monitoring tool that enables parents to…

Background: Little is known about the nature, range and prevalence of different subgroups in language trajectories extant in a population from 4 to 11 years. This hinders strategic targeting and design of interventions, particularly targeting those whose difficulties will likely persist. Methods: Children's language abilities from 4 to 11 years…

This technical assistance paper provides guidance to individuals with test administration responsibilities in adult education programs. These policies apply to the approved assessments that programs may use to report educational gains in compliance with the National Reporting System (NRS) requirements. The NRS is the accountability system for the…

Although high school graduation rates are rising--the national rate was 82 percent during the 2013/14 school year (U.S. Department of Education, 2015)--dropping out remains a persistent problem in the Midwest and nationally. Many schools now use early warning systems to identify students who are at risk of not graduating, with the goal of…

A team of facilitators describe the process and content of portfolios they create for families attending weekly playgroup sessions based on the philosophy and practices of the Parents Interacting with Infants (PIWI) model. The parent-child portfolios are a form of authentic assessment and highlight children's development within the context of…

Approaches consistent with a Response to Intervention (RTI) framework are becoming increasingly prominent. The present study is a preliminary investigation aimed at gaining a greater understanding of educators' knowledge of RTI and application of RTI principles. It serves as the first step toward understanding educators' preparation to implement…

Youth service providers recognize that involving families in children's learning is critical to academic achievement and overall healthy development. Yet youth service providers face ongoing challenges engaging families in out-of-school time programs. The authors, administrators of a nationally recognized youth development program, share their…

Chronic shortages, high attrition rates, the unique demands of the job, and geographic isolation from colleagues have been identified as unique challenges within the profession for teachers of students with moderate and severe disabilities. Many different forms of professional development exist for educators; however, these experiences do not…

This paper provides a critical analysis of the impact of the "Presidential Decree 200" (1998) regarding the operation of kindergartens in Greece, on children's enjoyment of their rights. It appears that the "Decree" does not respect, protect or fulfil the participation rights of the child whereas it respects, protects and…