This collection consists of 11 conference papers on issues pertaining to education of talented and gifted children; 6 are from "general interest" sessions and 5 are from "special interest" sessions. The general interest papers are primarily theoretical in focus. Titles include: Julian C. Stanley's "Finding Intellectually…

This manual is intended for use by Peace Corps volunteers as a resource for gaining an understanding and knowledge of basic horticultural principles and practices of orchard management. Addressed in the individual units of instructional text are orchard soils; botany of horticultural plants; insect and disease control in orchards; pome, stone,…

In the second year of a project investigating the ability of secondary school teachers to identify high-ability students, two questions were addressed: what student characteristics influenced teachers' judgments, and why checklists appeared to have little impact on teachers' judgments. A structured approach was developed to study student…

This packet contains six units of informational materials and transparency masters, with accompanying scripts, for teachers to use in a plant science course in vocational agriculture. Designed especially for use in Texas, the first unit introduces the course through the following topics: economic importance of major crops, major areas of…

Project SOLID START is an integrated reading program involving regular classroom, special education, and reading teachers, and parent volunteers in the Melrose, Massachusetts public schools. SOLID START supports beginning literacy in a developmental, rather than a remedial, mode. The project tests the hypothesis that a carefully structured,…

This review of early intervention for preschool children with learning disabilities examines: (1) definitions of learning disabilities; (2) characteristics of learning-disabled children and children at risk; (3) identification of preschool children at risk; (4) efficacy of early intervention; (4) phases of an early intervention program, including…

Developed by a suburban school district, this manual provides guidelines for the early identification of gifted preschool children and describes Project Unicorn, a project to conceptualize, plan, and implement a classroom curriculum model for gifted young children. Project activities were based on Jean Piaget's theory of cognitive development and…

The purpose of this report was to explore one way in which quantitative and qualitative paradigms in program evaluation can be employed to reinforce each other. An evaluation was conducted of a large number of special education programs for preschoolers with handicaps in Louisiana. Since 1978, Louisiana has funded programs in 65 public school…

Characteristics of graduates of 42 colleges belonging to the United Negro College Fund (UNCF) are considered. A primary objective was to evaluate the success of the colleges in preparing an elite class of individuals dedicated to the survival and advancement of blacks specifically and democracy and justice in a larger sense. After an overview of…

In an effort to validate dynamic assessment methods influenced by Vygotsky's (1978) definition of zones of proximal development (an indicator of readiness), three sets of experiments addressed two goals: the development of diagnostic assessment methods and the use of diagnostic results to guide the design of instructional programs. The first two…

This module, which is one in a series of training packages intended to train educators working with handicapped adolescents and young adults in correctional settings, deals with basic assessment and evaluation procedures for use in identifying and evaluating disabled students. Included among those topics addressed in the individual sections of the…

This report describes the history and programs of the Wisconsin Education Opportunity Program (WEOP), a bureau within the State Department of Public Instruction that provides support services for Wisconsin youths and adults (particularly the disadvantaged) who intend to complete a postsecondary education program. Currently, it is said, WEOP…

An analysis of longitudinal data on a sample of low-income mothers and children was conducted to identify maternal characteristics during pregnancy and infancy that predict child school adaptation during kindergarten. The sample consisted of low-income mothers recruited while receiving prenatal services from public health clinics. The children,…

Conducted by New York State's Legislative Commission on Expenditure Review (LCER), this program audit reviews the implementation of the 1980 legislative mandate that all new public school entrants be screened for handicapping conditions or giftedness and that children scoring below specified scores on third and eighth grade statewide standardized…

This report summarizes the 1985-86 results for three New York state examination programs--the elementary school Pupil Evaluation Program (PEP) and the high school Regents and Regents Competency Tests. Results on the PEP showed passing rates improved steadily over the last four years. About one-half of New York State's graduating seniors are…