The impact and feasibility of using student perceptions of the classroom teaching environment as an instructional feedback tool were explored. Thirty-one teachers serving 797 middle school students collected data twice across 3 weeks using the Responsive Environmental Assessment for Classroom Teaching (REACT). Researchers randomly assigned half of…

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 federal mandate for use of evidence-based practice in schools focuses attention on the frequently discussed research-to-practice gap in education. The current study examined the frequency with which evidence-based practices are engaged in the education of pupils with disabilities. In sum, 174 special education teachers and 333 school…

The findings that certain tests are used in almost every situation and that various professionals employ a large number of technically inadequate measures are discussed in terms of implications for current assessment and decision-making practices. (Author)

Five years of research findings on assessment and decision making for learning disabled (LD) students are summarized through 14 generalizations. the generalizations deal with five issues: which students to refer for psychoeducational evaluation; which students to declare eligible for LD services; how to plan specific instructional interventions…

Assessment of the individual student's instructional environment is critical to comprehensive evaluation of the student's strengths and weaknesses. Through observation and interviews, the Instructional Environment Scale systematically describes the extent to which a student's academic or behavior problems are a function of factors in the…

The paper considers problems in current assessment and evaluation practices with learning disabled students and discusses forces for change. Among the weaknesses noted are inadequate conceptual and definitional frameworks, practitioner bias, and technical inadequacies of currently used norm referenced tests. The authors outline three factors…

The Minnesota Institute studied the assessment of LD (learning disability) children, including such topics as characteristics of referred children and of those found eligible for special education placement, methods of planning instructional interventions, evaluations of the extent to which children profited from instruction, and of effectiveness…

The assessment and decision-making practices used by 44 child service demonstration centers, which provide services to learning disabled (LD) children, were investigated in a national survey. Results suggested that assessment and decision making in the field of learning disabilities are characterized by variability and inconsistency. (Author/DLS)

The author traces reasons to support his contention that the state of the art in assessing learning disabled students is not good. Among issues examined are the following: use of tests for purposes other than those for which they were intended; technical adequacy of currently used tests (standardization, reliability, validity); the use of deficit…

A nationwide sample of 49 school psychologists and 30 regular education teachers provided information on assessment for the purpose of instructional planning. School psychologists listed the types of information they collected for this purpose and teachers listed the types of information they considered useful. While some indications of agreement…

The authors suggest that the confusion and controversy over definitions of learning disabilities have been unproductive. They review findings on the assessment decision making process and emphasize the need for a new perspective on assessment and intervention. (CL)

This report summarizes the Early Childhood Assessment Project, which attempted to clarify issues confronting policy makers in early childhood special education through documentation of current practices, in-depth investigation of alternative approaches, and examination of predicted social, political, economic, and educational impact of alternative…

Results of three separate studies were analyzed to ascertain the technical adequacy of tests used by professionals to make screening, placement/classification, instructional planning, and evaluation decisions for handicapped students. In each investigation, the frequency of usage of technically adequate instruments was addressed. The finding that…

This guide presents a model for evaluation of educational outcomes appropriate for use with all students (with and without disabilities). It addresses specific post-school outcomes, associated indicators, and possible sources of data for the indicators. The model identifies seven measurable outcome domains and three to five outcomes per domain.…