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A cohort of 2nd-grade students provided comparisons of academic and social competence based on school retention/promotion decisions. Sample groups were (a) retained, (b) at risk for retention, (c) special education, and (d) promoted. Findings suggested most children with academic deficiencies are identified by schools early and are sorted into educational treatments differing in intensity that represent a continuum of competence. The authors provide empirical evidence counter to the assumptions that retained students have the requisite ability to catch up and have more problem behaviors than other low-achieving students. The relevance of high-stakes test scores for promotion/retention decisions and the parallels between schools' implementation of retention policy and implementation of regulations for identifying children with disabilities are included in the discussion.

A study explored classroom reading assessments, IQ and achievement scores, and placement decision of 26 students referred to Student Study Teams for intervention and determination of special-education eligibility. Congruence was moderate between placement decisions and discrepancy-based determination of learning disabilities and between placement decision and severity of academic referral. (Author/CR)

This response to Detterman and Thompson (1997) analyzes their criticisms of special education and presents evidence of the effectiveness of current instructional techniques for children with disabilities in contrast with the cognitive approaches favored by Detterman and Thompson. Assumptions about the significance of intelligence testing and cognitive approaches are questioned. (Author/DB)

School study teams' use of results from traditional psychoeducational measures in determining eligibility for special education is examined. Three groups of students were studied: (1) learning disabled (N=47); (2) mildly mentally retarded (N=43); (3) low achievers (N=60). Relatively low agreement was found between eligibility and research criteria. (Author/EMK)

In examining the issue of overrepresentation of minority students in special education, this article distinguishes between the percentage of category or program by group and percentage of group in category or program, which provide very different perspectives. Caution in interpreting data from the Office of Civil Rights relating "race/ethnicity" to "placement in disability category" is also urged. (DB)

This article examines problems inherent in current federal criteria for estimating special education graduation and dropout rates. Proposed changes in reporting categories are presented. Exiting data included in reports by the Office of Special Education Programs may overestimate dropout rates and not be comparable to data reported by other governmental agencies. (DB)

The criticism of the review of social competence and affective behaviors provided by D. Ferguson and P. Ferguson does not respond to the review so much as it presents a constructivist point of view about disabilities and inclusion and, as such, is a statement of an ideology rather than a critique of a review. (SLD)

Sampling problems related to the use of system-identified subjects in special education research are considered. Differences in criteria and selection of mildly handicapped students have resulted in limited generalizability of findings. Among suggested approaches are using rationally defined subgroups, cluster analysis, and marker variables. (Author/CL)

The Larry P. decision is criticized with reference to: (1) predictive tests and the standard curriculum; (2) the court's portrayal of special classes; (3) the effects of the 1972 decision on special class enrollment; (4) semantic confusion; and (5) the impact on Black children who experience academic difficulty. (Author/CTM)

The nature and extent of parental involvement with all levels of special education is discussed and contrasted with that of parental involvement in regular education. A major conclusion is that parent involvement in special education should be determined more by individual preferences than by generalized expectations. (Author/MC)

One possible reason for the failure to demonstrate the efficacy of self contained classes for the EMR lies in the failure of such classes to balance the emphasis on motivational and cognitive variables. Several motivational variables have been isolated experimentally and the research findings have been interpreted to suggest that children who have experienced excessive amounts of failure dramatically differ from children with little history of failure on these variables. Three specific motivational variables are discussed and the related research evidence presented. The variables are (a) expectancy for failure, (b) outer-directedness, and (c) positive and negative reaction tendencies. Implications are drawn and suggestions made regarding ways of dealing with these behaviors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tile behavior modification movement has a noteworthy history in the education of exceptional children. Although the formal beginnings of the movement can be pinpointed in the first quarter of this century, its origins and techniques can be traced to much earlier periods. The efforts of several behavior modification practitioners in and peripheral to the field of special education are described in an attempt to put present day behavior modification program; in historical perspective. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Discusses the efforts of educator Elizabeth Farrell and City Superintendent of Schools, William Henry Maxwell, in establishing ungraded classes for mildly retarded children in New York City between 1900 to 1920. Political conflict that helped to establish but then constrain the growth of special education programs; Government policy for special education.