Childhood Special Education Research Articles

High-Stakes Testing: Can Rapid Assessment Reduce the Pressure?

This article presents findings about the implementation of a system for rapidly assessing student progress in math and reading in grades K-12—a system that potentially could reduce pressure on teachers resulting from high-stakes testing and the implementation of the No Child Left Behind Act. Interviews with 49 teachers and administrators in one Texas school district suggest that the assessments allowed teachers to individualize and target instruction; provide more tutoring; reduce drill and practice; and improve student readiness for, and spend more time on, critical thinking activities, resulting in a more balanced curriculum. Teachers reported that the assessments provided a common point for discussion, increased collaboration among teachers to improve instruction and resolve instructional problems, and supported both new and experienced teachers in implementing sound teaching practices. The individualized curriculum and rapid feedback on progress reportedly gave students the feeling that they were successful and in control of their own learning, engaging students who previously disliked reading and math—including dyslexic children and children in special education—reducing stress, and improving student achievement. These findings are interpreted through Corbett and Wilson's framework for understanding why high-stakes testing often has negative effects and why the implementation of rapid assessment systems could reduce unintended negative consequences of testing.

Stress-related behaviors among horses used in a therapeutic riding program

To determine whether therapeutic riding resulted in higher levels of stress or frustration for horses than did recreational riding and whether therapeutic riding with at-risk individuals was more stressful for the horses than was therapeutic riding with individuals with physical or emotional handicaps. Observational study. 14 horses in a therapeutic riding program. An ethogram of equine behaviors was created, and horses were observed while ridden by 5 groups of riders (recreational riders, physically handicapped riders, psychologically handicapped riders, at risk children, and special education children). Number of stress-related behaviors (ears pinned back, head raised, head turned, head tossed, head shaken, head down, and defecation) was compared among groups. No significant differences in mean number of stress-related behaviors were found when horses were ridden by recreational riders, physically handicapped riders, psychologically handicapped riders, or special education children. However, mean number of stress-related behaviors was significantly higher when horses were ridden by the at-risk children. Results suggest that for horses in a therapeutic riding program, being ridden by physically or psychologically handicapped individuals is no more stressful for the horses than is being ridden in the same setting by recreational riders. However, at-risk children caused more stress to the horses, suggesting that the time horses are ridden by at-risk children should be limited both daily and weekly.

Effects of a therapeutic riding program on at-risk and special education children

To determine the effects of a therapeutic riding program on psychosocial measurements among children considered at risk for poor performance or failure in school or life and among children in special education programs. Observational study. 17 at-risk children (6 boys and 11 girls) and 14 special education children (7 boys and 7 girls). For the at-risk children, anger, anxiety, perceived self-competence, and physical coordination were assessed. For the special education children, anger and cheerfulness were measured, and the children's and their mothers' perceptions of the children's behavior were assessed. Measurements were made before and after an 8-session therapeutic riding program. For boys enrolled in the special education program, anger was significantly decreased after completion of the riding program. The boys' mothers also perceived significant improvements in their children's behavior after completion of the program. Results suggest that an 8-session therapeutic riding program can significantly decrease anger in adolescent boys in a special education program and positively affect their mothers' perception of the boys' behavior.

Tracking Preschool Children With Developmental Delay: Third Grade Outcomes

Educational outcomes were evaluated for 2,046 preschool children identified with developmental delay. Results indicated that at third grade, 26% were in regular education and the remaining 74% were receiving special education services. The most common disability classifications at outcome were specific learning disabilities and educable mentally handicaps. Regular education, but not special education, children had higher retention rates than did the general population. The presence of one or more secondary exceptionalities in preschool was more common for special education than regular education children. Regular education and special education children did not differ on other factors studied. This study highlights the importance of developmental delay as an exceptionality category and advances our understanding of the long-term implications of such delay.

Feasibility of obtaining parental consent for special education record review in autism surveillance

Purpose The purpose of this study was to describe the feasibility of an alternative approach to public health surveillance for autism via parental consent when FERPA restricts access to special education records. Specific questions were: What is the process for obtaining parental consent by mail to review and abstract information from the child's special education records, what are the obstacles, what are the costs in time and money, and what is the yield of affirmative replies to requests for access to records? Methods The feasibility study was conducted over 18 months. Data were collected from telephone, email, observation and meetings, among investigators and personnel of the Philadelphia School District. Results Negotiations comprised multiple meetings with various stakeholders for 27 months before the mailing was sent. District representatives were concerned about violating the Family Education Rights Protection Act (FERPA). Discussions with attorneys were needed to confirm adequacy of privacy protection. Significant barriers related to practical issues of implementation and cost included: limited district resources, low cooperation of staff, FERPA regulations, and parent variables. One problem was the ability to generate parent support and cooperation to collect a sufficient number of affirmative responses. The population of children and parents was multiracial, spoke over 120 primary languages and was socioeconomically diverse. Nineteen hundred letters were sent to parents in English and Spanish. Within 2 weeks of delivery 214 responses were received (11%); 20% of these declined record review, and 105 letters were returned undeliverable. The study coordinator received over 70 calls from parents requesting more information. The monetary cost of the project exceeded $22,000. Conclusion The complexity of establishing collaboration among multiple stakeholders requires considerable human and other resources. More effort is needed to establish credibility and visibility of a surveillance program in the school community before requesting cooperation from parents. Initial expenses may be the first investments in a long-term cooperative relationship.

The Pursuit of Evidence-Based Practice in Special Education for Children with Emotional or Behavioral Disorders

Colleagues in the field of mental health have made considerable progress developing inventories of evidence-based practice; however, the field of special education for children with emotional or behavioral disorders has only recently begun to do so. This paper provides some personal reflections on four major issues for consideration as we pursue evidence-based practice in this field, including: (1) the nature of acceptable evidence; (2) the sustainability of evidence-based practice; (3) the overlap of learning disabilities and emotional or behavioral disorders; and (4) the context of special education in the field of mental health. Such problems are formidable and remain largely unresolved as we enter a new phase of deliberation regarding evidence-based practice.

Parent Practices in Facilitating Self-Determination Skills: The Influences of Culture, Socioeconomic Status, and Children's Special Education Status

This survey study investigated the influences of culture, socioeconomic status, and children's special education status on parents' engagement in fostering self-determination behaviors. Major findings included (a) children from Caucasian families were more involved in personal independence activities than Asian and African American children; (b) Asian and immigrant parents did not believe in exercising parental authority or emphasize family priorities as expected; and (c) parents with college degrees gave their children more opportunities to express their interests, make daily decisions that have important impacts on their life, and set personal goals than parents without college degrees. Similarly, parents of higher-income families were more likely to engage in practices that fostered their children's self-determination skills. Parents of students with disabilities, however, were less likely to engage in these practices. The implications of these findings are discussed.

For Whom the School Bell Tolls but Not the Statute of Limitations: Minors and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act

This Article explores whether claims under the federal special education statute should be tolled on account of minority. Adult disabled students typically assert this type of tolling claim when alleging statutory violations dating back ten or more years, when they were minors. However this tolling claim is decided, there may be undesired results. First, even if the student has a very strong case, the merits are never reached if the court dismisses the hearing request as untimely. Second, if the hearing request is timely and the case proceeds to the merits, the student must remain in her current educational placement, potentially at great cost, during the lengthy IDEA hearing and appeals process as mandated by the IDEA's "stay put" provision. Moreover, the school may face difficulties defending the claim on the merits because under the IDEA, schools must allow parents and adult students to request destruction of their special education records to the extent the records are not currently required in order to provide services. Finally, unique challenges arise for schools because parents help develop their child's special education program. Accordingly, schools rely on both the parents' approval of the educational program, as well as the parents' choice not to request a due process hearing for their minor child. The IDEA specifically assigns the right to make this decision to the parents of minor students, and not the minor students themselves, as part of the IDEA's panoply of procedural safeguards. Congress first addressed statute of limitations issues under the IDEA in the 2004 amendments. This Article surveys the relevant case law on whether to "borrow" tolling provisions from state statutes and reveals great variation among the courts. Specifically, the courts vary in their adherence to Supreme Court precedent, their application of this precedent, and their conclusions about whether tolling on account of minority should apply in IDEA disputes. The Article concludes that, because of the unique role the IDEA assigns to parents, the correct approach under the pre-2004 amendments is not to toll claims for minors. The Article then examines the new IDEA language, which creates explicit statutes of limitation, but does not explicitly address the issue of tolling for minor students. Consequently, in future litigation, students and parents are likely to claim that tolling for minors should be judicially read into the IDEA's new statutes of limitations. However, this Article concludes, through an application of the Supreme Court's guidance in this area, that a tolling rule for legal minors should not be read into the IDEA's new statutes of limitation. Tolling for minors is inconsistent with congressional intent as evidenced by the pre-2004 amendments analysis, and further strengthened by the new amendments. Finally, the consequences of tolling are harsher than those of not tolling.

Managing classroom behavior of Head Start children using response cost and token economy procedures.

Problematic behaviors exhibited by young children have become a topic of concern. Head Start staff members are reporting an increase in the number of children displaying challenging and disruptive behaviors (Piotrkowski, Collins, Knitzer, & Robinson, 1994). Despite the increase in classroom behavior problems, teachers reported deficiencies in managing these behaviors. In fact, behavior management strategies comprised 3 of the top 5 areas in which Head Start staff requested additional training (Buscemi, Bennett, Thomas, & DeLuca, 1995). Therefore, it is important to provide teachers with effective strategies to manage classroom behaviors. Comparing Response Cost and Token Economy Procedures Research has supported the effectiveness of both response cost and token economy procedures in decreasing disruptive behavior in academic settings. However, both procedures employ different strategies to manage classroom behavioral problems. Thus, it is important to examine research comparing the relative effectiveness of these two procedures. Iwata and Bailey (1974) used a reversal design to compare reward and cost token systems with special education children in elementary school. The children’s behavior was observed every morning for three months during math class. Results indicated that both programs were equally effective in decreasing off-task behavior and the violation of the teacher’s rules. Mean percent off-task behavior returned to a level similar to baseline during the reversal phase. The number of mathematic problems completed more than doubled for the group earning tokens while the cost group only showed a small increase in problems completed. The teacher provided more statements of approval to students who were in the reward-cost group than to children who were in the cost-reward group. Sullivan and O’Leary (1990) also compared the effectiveness of both response cost and token economy procedures. Children were observed daily for 40 minutes during reading and language and math class. Both programs were highly and equally effective in reducing the amount of off-task behavior. More specifically, average percent on-task behavior in the baseline condition was approximately 60%, but then increased to approximately 85% when both programs were in effect. However, rates of on-task behavior differed between the two programs when the programs were faded from use. When the response cost program was faded, improvements in on-task behavior were maintained for all students participating in this program. However, half of the children who participated in the reward program did not maintain treatment effects when the program was faded from the classroom.

The educational principles of social education and special education for children and youngsters in care

This article presents results from a Danish quantitative and qualitative study of social education and special education in residential care centres, private residential care centres and day-care centres. Among other aspects this concerned the educational approach of the institutions as well as their organizational affiliation and size, the organization and planning of special educational provisions, descriptions and analyses of the educational processes and the organization of special educational provisions and social intervention. The study furthermore aimed at generating knowledge about the correlation between special education and social education, understandings of the concept of education, the organization and contents of special education and cooperation with external partners. The article offers analyses of two central tendencies: compensatory thinking, meaning an educational approach addressing the ‘problems’ and troubled backgrounds of the children and youngsters in care; and comprehensive thinking, referring to a unification of social education and special educational provisions. In conclusion the author suggests alternative views on and ways of approaching working with children and youngsters in care.

State SLD Identification Policies and Practices

Specific learning disabilities (SLD) conceptual definitions and classification criteria were examined through a survey of state education agency (SEA) SLD contact persons in an effort to update information last published in 1996. Most prior trends continued over the last decade. Results showed that SEA SLD classification criteria continue to be dominated by three features, severe discrepancy between intellectual ability and achievement, specified achievement areas, and exclusion factors. Significant variability between states also continues to exist in SLD prevalence, conceptual definitions, and classification criteria. SLD diagnostic decisions depend heavily on SEA classification criteria, producing potential changes in the eligibility of children for special education depending on their state of residence. Dissatisfaction with current SLD criteria is discussed along with likely future trends.

Social play of young children at‐risk of learning difficulties: a situated performance?

The question asked by this study was whether information on play behaviour of young children at‐risk of learning difficulties could act as a diagnostic means of investigating emerging learning difficulties. A sociocultural perspective was taken to examine the role of interaction during the play of students in a regular primary school and in a special primary school using a multimethod approach. Groups of students from both schools were studied during eight 30‐minute sessions over a period of 3 weeks. The groups were matched with respect to age and language development and then divided into two further groups of three students each per school. Each group was invited to build a zoo using toy animals and wooden blocks. The 32 sessions were videotaped, transcribed, and analysed microgenetically with measures involving the types of collaboration during play and metaplay. The results showed that the number of episodes and the most elaborate type of collaboration occurred more often in the regular primary school than in the special school, whereas the frequency of metaplay did not differ significantly between the schools. Fragments of discourse obtained during the sessions are presented and discussed. It is concluded from the findings that social play may emerge as a situated performance. Thus, information on social development of young children at‐risk of learning difficulties needs to be related to the school as a context in order to improve diagnostic decision‐making when placement of these children in special education is considered.

Sustained Effects of the PATHS Curriculum on the Social and Psychological Adjustment of Children in Special Education

In this study, the authors examined the long-term effectiveness of the PATHS (Promoting Alternative THinking Strategies) curriculum on the adjustment of school-age children with special needs. The PATHS curriculum focuses on promoting children's emotional development, self-regulation, and social problem—solving skills. Eighteen special education classrooms were randomly assigned to treatment and control conditions in this controlled trial. Teachers received both training and ongoing consultation and provided PATHS to students in Grades 1 through 3. Data were collected before the intervention and for 3 successive years. Growth curve analysis indicated that the intervention reduced the rate of growth of teacher-reported internalizing and externalizing behaviors 2 years after the intervention and produced a sustained reduction in depressive symptoms reported by the children. Discussion focuses on the need for social—emotional learning (SEL) programs in special education and factors that can promote SEL among children with special needs.

Addressing the shortage of school psychologists: A summative overview

AbstractThe role of the school psychologist has evolved from the traditional position of psychometrician to a scientist‐practitioner who assumes a more progressive, proactive leadership position in initiating reform in the schools. This shift is guided by a changing paradigm from child deviance, or child pathology, to a collaborative, problem‐solving orientation that is characterized by a focus on interventions and altering student outcomes (Ysseldyke & Elliot, 1999). This shifting philosophy mandates that school psychologists, to serve as effective advocates for children, should focus on outcomes, employ more preventative techniques, utilize empirically supported interventions, and take an active role in initiating changes in their schools and the communities (Davis, 2001). A more preventative approach increases the role, and the necessity, of school psychologists working directly with children in special education and children not in special education. Yet, the field continues to undersupply the number of school psychologists needed to effectively meet these critical goals. The paucity of school psychologists available to serve children in the schools is reflected in the shortfalls in higher education and with practitioners (e.g., Reschly, 2000; Tingstrom, 2000). Additionally, school psychologists face disparities in gender, ethnic, and racial representation relative to the U.S. population, with the majority of school psychologists being Caucasian females (e.g., Curtis, Grier, Abshier, Sutton, & Hunley, 2002; Thomas, 1998). This may lead to a lack of identification from the student's perspective or a deficiency of culturally sensitive methods and techniques from the school psychologist, especially in poor areas where minorities tend to be overrepresented (Steinberg, 2002). The shortage of school psychologists, especially minority school psychologists, is reaching a crisis state. To overcome this shortage, a call to action is proposed to all practicing school psychologists, trainers in higher education, professional organizations, and legislators. Taking progressive, proactive steps may involve reconceptualizing the practice of school psychology, increasing visibility of the profession, becoming more involved in politics and legislation, employing unique approaches to recruitment, utilizing technology in training programs, and actively recruiting minority candidates. The purpose of this article is to review past solutions to this problem, analyze what is currently being done, and propose new resolutions to address these concerns. Additionally, some solutions to these issues discussed in this journal issue will be reviewed. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Psychol Schs 41: 489–495, 2004.

Special education services and school performance in a regional cohort of low-birthweight infants at age nine.

Previous research has shown that low birthweight is a predictor of several adverse educational outcomes, including special educational placement, by middle school age. Most low-birthweight follow-up studies that have extended to school age have focused on very small infants-- < 1500 or < 1000 g; less is known of the school age outcomes for infants with only moderately low birthweight (1500-2000 g). This study examines the prevalence of special educational placement and the relationship of such placement to grade retention, verbal and performance scores on tests of general intelligence, reading and maths achievement scores and classroom hyperactivity among low-birthweight children. In a regional birth cohort of 1105 infants born between 1984 and 1987 and weighing 500-2000 g, 868 children were available for follow-up at age nine. Information on special education placement as well as grade retention, intelligence, academic achievement and classroom behaviour was available on 645 (74% completion rate). Nearly a third of the cohort was classified as needing special education. Special education placement followed a birthweight gradient, occurring among 29.3% of children with birthweights 1500-2000 g, among 32.5% in children 1000-1500 g and 49.4% in children < 1000 g. Among children in special education, a similar birthweight gradient was found for maths achievement and hyperactivity, but not for reading achievement or IQ scores. Among children not in special education, only maths achievement showed such a decline with birthweight. A substantial proportion of low-birthweight children, including those of moderate low birthweight, receive special education services, although the need is greatest among those with the lowest birthweights. Maths achievement declined with birthweight regardless of educational placement. The medical and social risk factors that accompany low birthweight and may account for these findings, require further study.

Practices Across Disciplines in Early Intervention

The most recent compilation of DEC Recommended Practices in Early Intervention/Early Childhood Special Education (S. Sandall, M. E. McLean, & B. J. Smith, 2000) contains 240 recommended practices across 7 strands. The recommended practices evolved from a process involving input from literature reviews, scientific experts, 9 stakeholder focus groups, and field validation of the synthesized practices (Sandall, McLean, & Smith, 2000). One of the 7 strands addresses recommended practices in interdisciplinary models. The 19 practices in this strand emphasize teamwork, loose boundaries between disciplines, functional intervention, and support to caregivers. The article briefly describes the process used to identify these 19 recommended practices and focuses on the literature base of 30 articles that supports the interdisciplinary models strand. An analysis of the literature was undertaken to better understand the types of research (eg, qualitative or quantitative) and the elements (eg, study setting, study participants) used to support this group of practices as well as gaps currently existing in the research and literature base lending support to these practices. The article suggests the importance of using these recommended practices as the foundation by which practitioners in early intervention/early childhood special education go about their daily routines and practices. By examining the empirical base in the published literature, it is possible to suggest modifications that could help a team move toward meeting recommended practices and suggest future research endeavors to strengthen the empirical support available in this field.

Learning Potential in Analogical Reasoning: Construction of a Rasch-scaled Instrument for Group Wise Assessment

The aim of this project is to construct a new learning potential test in analogical reasoning that can be administered both individually and group wise. A first set of items has been created within the framework of Berger’s Master’s thesis (Berger; 2003). In this study (Bosson, 2003), these items were revised and applied in a primary school with 271 children, age between 6 and 13 years. The HART (Hessels Analogical Reasoning Test; Hessels, 2003) is composed of 66 analogical matrices presented in 2 (columns) by 3 (rows) or 3 by 3 format with 6 or 8 response alternatives. Items are distributed across 9 levels of complexity based on number of attributes and relations in the matrices. The test is preceded by an introductory phase, during which four examples are discussed extensively with the children. In this study, the HART is presented in three phases. After the introductory phase, each child had to individually resolve 40 to 60 items (pretest). Then a short training (20-30 minutes) about how to resolve analogical matrices was given to whole classes, followed by a posttest in which the child had to resolved another 20 items (posttest). For a first evaluation of training effects and validity of the HART, the 14 classes were randomly assigned to either the control or the experimental condition. Furthermore, the teachers were asked to give ratings of pupils’ school performance in arithmetic, French, behavior, participation, and application in class.Analysis of pretest results permitted us to construct a generalized Rasch-scale with all 66 items. The theoretical complexity levels of the items largely concurred with their empirical difficulties. These results will allow us, in future research, to construct short tests adapted to the developmental level of each child. With regard to the validity, the low correlations between pretest, posttest and non-cognitive aspects (measured with teacher’s ratings) demonstrated that the test provides a relatively independent evaluation of factors such as behavior and application in class. The effect of training was significant: participants from the experimental group showed higher performance at posttest than those of the control group. Furthermore, the gains realized by the experimental group were not related to age, as all age groups showed to have benefited from the training to the same extent. The residual gains from pre- to posttest showed also to be significantly related to school success in the experimental group only.The results of this study show that the experimental version of the HART allows one to estimate the learning potential of children in mainstream primary education classes. The research will continue with children in special education to evaluate the differential effects of the training and the predictive capacity of the HART, as well as the merits of different testing procedures.

Children with Mathematics Learning Disabilities in Belgium

In Belgium, between 3% and 8% of the children in elementary schools have mathematics learning disabilities (MLD). Many of these children have less developed linguistic, procedural, and mental representation skills. Moreover, a majority of the children have been found to show inaccurate prediction and evaluation skills in Grade 3. MLD often become obvious in elementary school. Whereas some children are retained, others are referred to special education. During the last 10 years, the number of children in special education and the number of children with learning disabilities who are following a special guidance program in general education (inclusive education) have increased. Children in Belgium with MLD can get therapy for about 2 years. Nevertheless, many problems continue unresolved even in high school and adulthood.

A Unified Theory of Practice in Early Intervention/Early Childhood Special Education

Over the last decade, the field of early intervention/early childhood special education (EI/ECSE) has emerged as a primary service for infants and preschool children with disabilities and their families. Systems for providing early intervention for infants and toddlers exist in every state, and all state Departments of Education are responsible for special education for preschool children. In EI/ECSE, a unified theory of practice has emerged and draws from a range of psychological and educational theories. A strong, evidence-based set of practices that service providers and caregivers use to promote the development and well-being of infants and young children with disabilities and their families underlies this theory of practice. The purpose of this article is to describe the tenets of this theory and identify evidence-based practices associated with each.

Examining Parents' Involvement in and Perceptions of Special Education Services

The purpose of this investigation Was to examine families' involvement in and perceptions of children's special education services. A telephone survey Was conducted With 45 families of children With autism Who Were part of a parent support group. The survey consisted of a total of 15 questions that pertained to the folloWing areas: (a) the child's educational placement and type of special education services received, (b) the frequency and nature of parents' communication With school personnel, (c) parents' knoWledge about and involvement in their child's Individualized Education Program (IEP) process, and (d) parents' priorities for their child and overall satisfaction With school services. Results indicated that the majority of children spent part of their day in the general education classroom and received 1 to 2 special education services.