Three concurrent validity studies were conducted to determine the relationship between performances on formative measures of reading and standardized achievement measures of reading. Correlational analyses for five formative measures and three standardized measures provided evidence for the validity of Words in Isolation, Words in Context, and Oral Reading as indices of reading achievement. Comparisons of performance of regular and resource program students in grades one through six revealed marked differences between the two groups and across grades. The usefulness of the formative measures for continuous evaluation of student growth in reading is discussed.

Despite escalating special education costs and increasing student needs, policies governing special education caseload remain inconsistent, and implementation is even more variable. This article considers links between (a) instructional group size and student engagement, (b) caseload and academic achievement, and (c) caseload and special education teacher attrition. Findings suggest that (a) larger caseloads and instructional group sizes negatively impact student math and reading achievement; (b) severity of students' needs sway teacher perceptions of efficacy; (c) group or whole class instruction dominates all class sizes, but individualization occurs more frequently in smaller groups; (d) student attending behaviors and academic engagement increase when group sizes decrease; and (e) high teacher attrition and high caseloads appear correlated. Recommendations for future research are discussed.

No abstract

A survey was conducted to determine the instructional strategies used by special education teachers and general educators in teaching reading and writing, their philosophical approach (direct instruction or whole language), and what influenced teachers in making their philosophical decision. a 21-item questionnaire was completed by 183 elementary teachers of second and fifth grades and teachers of students with learning disabilities. the results indicated that the most important factor influencing respondents' philosophical decisions in teaching reading and writing is their teacher training program emphasis. results also indicated that the majority of respondents believe that a combination approach using both direct instruction and whole language is effective. the most commonly used instructional strategies by respondents include journal writing, writers' workshop, tradebooks, sustained silent reading, individualized reading, guided reading, and thematic units.

Although application of microcomputer-assisted instruction with learning disabled students is rapidly expanding, only limited research is available on the efficacy of such instruction. The primary purpose of this single-subject design study was to investigate whether learning of multiplication tables via computer programs transfers to paper-and-pencil tasks. Three male and three female fourth-grade LD students participated in the three phases of the study: baseline, microcomputer-assisted instruction, and transfer. Results of the daily 4-minute timings of each subject's multiplication facts indicated that about 12 days' drill and practice on a computer yielded an average gain of 4.7 and 6.1 facts per minute for the girls and boys, respectively, as evidenced by their worksheet performance. Implications for using microcomputer-assisted instruction with LD students are discussed.