Twenty special education teacher trainees and 20 special education cooperating teachers following the implementation of instructional lessons, estimated levels of children's performance. Chi-square analyses and tests on teachers' estimates suggested that, despite confidence in their own judgments, teachers tended to be inaccurate and to overrate…

The introduction to the special section introduces three papers and two commentaries originally presented at the 1989 Project Directors' Meeting of the Federal Office of Special Education Programs panel discussion focusing on the importance of individual differences and critical methodological and conceptual considerations. (DB)

Curriculum-based measurement (CBM) is defined and described through a case study of a fourth-grade student. CBM is suggested as a system for monitoring goal appropriateness, adjusting instructional programs, and formulating instructional improvements. Potential contributions of CBM to special education practice are outlined, and areas of needed…

Full inclusionists are concerned primarily about mentally retarded students, a group comprising about 10% of all students with disabilities. They cannot represent the majority of advocates for handicapped persons. The Arc's position is opposed by the American Council of the Blind, the Commission on the Education of the Deaf, the Council for…

This counterpoint to a critique of the authors' paper, which argued against full inclusion of students with disabilities, offers evidence of the effectiveness of special education and notes court litigation that has recognized that separate is not always unequal. (JDD)

Discusses the reasons for the gap between educational research and educational practice and suggests how research and practice may be bridged. An example is provided of researchers and educators working together to implement Peer-Assisted Learning Strategies using a three-stage process of pilot research, formal evaluation, and scaling up.…

The paper examined empirical evidence (published through 1986) concerning the effectiveness of the Adaptive Learning Environments Model (ALEM), a multifaceted program designed to integrate handicapped pupils and remedial and compensatory education students in general education. Evaluation of three evaluative studies by the program's originators…

The impact of examiner/examinee familiarity and rapport on psychological test performance is reviewed. Drawing upon research involving hundreds of young handicapped and nonhandicapped children, it was found that certain handicapped children obtain higher scores when tested by familiar examiners. Implications for practice, theory, and personnel…

The meta analysis explored how measuring special education student progress toward long-term vs. short-term goals affects achievement outcomes. Results indicated that when progress toward long-term goals was measured, unbiased effect sizes were higher than on probelike outcomes; when progress toward short-term goals was measured, the reverse was…

This article compares the inclusive schools movement and the Regular Education Initiative in terms of advocates, goals, tactics, and understanding of and links to general education. The article finds that the inclusive schools movement has become increasingly strident, and its perspective has become increasingly insular and disassociated from…

This paper highlights the salient, and sometimes invisible, features of the standard format for reporting special education research and provides guidelines for novice writers. The paper offers general considerations about planning and writing for publication, discusses components of the research report, and reviews the editorial process and…

An evaluation of empirical evidence from three studies published in journal articles and a book chapter indicated insufficient cause to view the Adaptive Learning Environments Model as a successful, large-scale, full-time mainstreaming program for integrating handicapped pupils and remedial/compensatory education students into general education.…

This article describes recent efforts to develop a reading diagnostic analysis to be used in conjunction with curriculum-based measurement for informing teachers how to refocus their instruction to address individual needs. A detailed example with data charts and student reports shows application in one second grade class. (Contains references.)…

Discussion of the research-to-practice gap in special education first suggests the Mainstream Assistance Teams effort as an example of this gap. It then suggests reasons for the gap and proposes a model that emphasizes collaboration between researchers and practitioners and nontraditional staff development activities. Lessons learned and…

Provides background information on how curriculum-based measurement (CBM) was developed, how CBM integrates traditional and classroom-based observational approaches to assessment, and how CBM has been used. Describes an alternative framework for incorporating CBM into an identification process that focuses on treatment validity and student growth.…