The road to a college degree is often littered with potholes of self-doubt, and sometimes those are deep enough to discourage even the most ambitious students. If the transition from high school to college were easy, the average six-year graduation rate at four-year institutions in the U.S. would probably be higher than 63%. To improve those…

Some individualized education plan (IEP) meetings are grueling for parents and educators alike, and too often things are said that have unintended consequences. Slips of the tongue can lead to bigger problems, such as due process hearings and complaints to the state education agency, not to mention accusations of discrimination and the legal…

This report by the Center on Education Policy (CEP) looks at how local educators perceive and act on state policies designed to help at-risk students and English language learners (ELLs) achieve the levels of proficiency needed to pass state high school exit examinations and graduate. Our findings are based on data from school observations and…

For students with disabilities, annual goals are the nuts and bolts of the everyday program outlined in their individualized education program (IEP). According to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act (IDEA) of 2004, a present level of performance with measurable annual goals must be outlined in a student's IEP. Goals should…

Students with disabilities and special needs have faced challenges in accessing educational content, and in taking traditional pen-and-paper tests. How might technology improve the process, while making statewide tests truly accessible to all students? NimbleTools is the first computer-based test delivery system that incorporates principles of…

Teachers of students with "low-incidence" disabilities, such as students who are deaf or hard of hearing, face unique challenges in putting education policy into practice. The present article presents professional development findings from the Third Annual National Survey of Accommodations and Assessment for Students Who Are Deaf or Hard…

One hundred thirty participants at 27 Educational Planning Committee (EPC) meetings were surveyed to determine which professional roles were viewed as most important to the educational planning and placement process for individual handicapped students. EPC participants rank ordered the 15 roles most often represented in the meetings according to…

The document, 80% of which consists of appended samples, presents information and suggestions on the preparation of individualized education programs (IEPs) for students classified as eligible for speech correction services. Aspects covered include IEP development, parental approval, time commitments, and annual review. Four sample IEPs are…

Discusses three keys to successful programs in the school-to-work transition for disabled students: (1) commitment to a goal of competitive employment; (2) cooperation among those involved in the process; and (3) communication. (JOW)

Reanalysis of data from a study of the activities of 59 regular elementary students vis-a-vis the Individualized Education Program process and mainstreaming of handicapped students examined practices in which nonhandicapped students were regularly sent to special education classrooms for reasons including instruction and social integration. (CL)

An investigation of the educational impact of integration of severely handicapped students revealed that over and above functional level, degree of integration, as measured by interaction with nonhandicapped students, was a significant predictor of educational progress, as measured by the proportion of individualized education program objectives…

The study examined parents' and educators' involvement in four individualized education program planning conferences for children exhibiting behavior, social, and learning problems. Data are presented regarding who participates in IEP conferences, how long the conferences last, and topics of discussion. (Author)

The article highlights the role of curriculum in special education within the contexts of the Individualized Education Program and a 6-S paradigm of the instructional program (someone, something, somebody, somehow, somewhere, and sometime). (CL)

A case study illustrates the development and monitoring of daily instructional objectives and activities based on five components: the Individualized Education Program (IEP), an objectives list, a task analysis and instructional sequence worksheet, a daily monitoring sheet, and a IEP performance chart. (CL)

Analysis of Individualized Education Program objectives of 22 special education students revealed that although a considerable number of objectives related to the development of potentially functional skills, very few suggested the desirability of generalized performance. (Author/CL)