Discusses the likelihood that teachers will accept various interventions for adapting instruction and accommodating students with disabilities in the general education classroom, emphasizing the areas of homework, grading, and testing

JL. UBLIC EDUCATION HAS EXPERIENCED A LONGand turbulent history of criticism and reform focused on virtually every aspect of its service to children and adolescents. However, perhaps at no time has the American educational system come under closer scrutiny than during the 1980s and early 1990s as professionals, business leaders, and politicians, as well as parents and other laypersons, have increasingly called for improving the quality of education at all levels. A number of national commissions and reports have been particularly strident in their support for major changes in the system (e.g., National Coalition of Advocates for Students, 1985; National Commission on Excellence in Education, 1983). A central focus of many of these criticisms was an increased commitment to educational rigor. Specifically, reformers called for the need to raise standards and increase accountability, heighten expectations for student performance, increase instructional time through efficient usage and/or extended school years, reform and restructure teacher education, promote home-school partnerships, and encourage communities to hold schools more accountable (Michaels, 1988;Westbury, 1984).During the mid-1980s, paralleling the reform movement in general education, a reform movement in special education also began in earnest due to urgent calls for the integration of students with disabilities into general education classes. Specifically, the Regular Education Initiative (REI) (Will, 1986) and more recently the inclusion movement (National Association of School Boards of Education [NASBE], 1992) have increased the likelihood that students with disabilities will receive a significant portion or all of their instruction in general education classrooms.

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The purpose of the present study was to investigate student preferences for specific adaptations in general education classroom testing. Participants in the study were 158 middle school students, including students with high-incidence disabilities (HID) and general education students with low, average, high, and very high achievement. Students completed an instrument developed for the study, the Student Preferences for Testing Adaptations Questionnaire. Students rated each of 23 specific testing adaptations on a 4-point scale (1 = dislike to 4 = high preference). In two additional questions, students also stated reasons for a single most-liked and a single least-liked adaptation. Most testing adaptations were at least moderately preferred by students. Open-notes and open-book tests were among the adaptations most preferred, and least-preferred adaptations included teacher reading of test questions to students and tests with fewer questions or covering less material. Students with HID and/or students with low achievement indicated significantly higher preference than did students with average or above-average achievement for several adaptations. Students' rationales for their choices of most-liked adaptations included improved test performance as well as the opportunity to work with peers and to receive assistance. On the other hand, students' descriptions of least-liked adaptations included concerns regarding fairness and interference with their own style of working.

M adhavi J ayanthi Independent Research Consultant J anet N elson U niversity of S outhern M ississippi Edward A. Polloway Lynchburg CollegeThe practice of including students with disabilities in general education classes has spawned interest in academic interventions, such as homework , that allow these students to be successful . Previous studies have revealed a number of communication problems that can limit the effectiveness of homework as an intervention. The purpose of the present study is to investigate the perceptions and experiences of parents of children with and without disabilities regarding homework load and problems related to communication with teachers. A national survey of 265 general education parents and 83 special education parents was conducted to determine (1) whether these two groups have different experiences with homework, and (2) the extent to which they agree with each other and with teachers regarding communication problems. Results revealed that both sets of parents have had similar experiences with homework, and that both groups perceive teachers to be at fault for not initiating timely and useful communication and for lacking information about their child's needs. Results