Increasing numbers of students with learning disabilities (LD) are looking to postsecondary education and training to help them achieve success in career development and eventual job placement. Unfortunately, research suggests that many of these students are having difficulty staying in and completing postsecondary programs. A number of self-determination skills have been identified that are related to students' making a successful transition to postsecondary education. These include stating one's disability and its impact on school performance, and identifying instructional accommodations and strategies for arranging those accommodations with their regular classroom teachers. The purpose of this study was to examine whether these self-determination skills could be acquired through direct instruction, and subsequently generalized to general education classrooms. The results of the effectiveness of this self-determination training are reported and their implications for teachers, parents, and students discussed.

Research continues to accumulate attesting to the fact that many children with learning disabilities are experiencing social difficulties in school. Nonetheless, it is also clear that achievement deficits, with or without the presence of a handicapping condition, are also related to social problems in the classroom. Several studies attempting to clarify the relative roles of handicapping condition and achievement in social adjustment have produced mixed results. The purpose of the present study was to clarify this issue further by examining the social differences between elementary school students with learning disabilities and other low achieving and higher achieving children on three social dimensions: sociometric status, behavior as rated by teachers, and self-ratings of social competence. The results indicated that the children with learning disabilities may be a higher risk socially than their low achieving and higher achieving peers. Variables that may account for these results are discussed as well as directions for future research.

Large numbers of students are not benefiting from current reading curricula and practices. However, despite the presence of a scientifically validated basis for teaching reading, the nuances of exactly how to translate beginning reading research into day-to-day classroom practice remain to be validated. In this article, beginning literacy outcomes for the instructional practices employed in Project PRIDE are presented. Project PRIDE is a model for preventing reading failure that employs a combination of systematic, explicit instruction in phonemic awareness and phonics with a total classroom reading program; a multitiered teaching approach; data-based decision making; and professional development that includes ongoing, on-site coaching. The effects of 2 years of PRIDE implementation in three inner-city schools in a medium-sized midwestern city are presented, and the implications of these findings for current practice and future research are discussed.

The purpose of this study was to survey the homework practices of general education teachers who teach students with disabilities. A national sample of 441 elementary, middle, and senior high teachers were asked about their homework practices, including their use of adaptations for students with disabilities. The results highlight homework practices and adaptations that are used frequently and perceived by teachers as helpful for students with disabilities. Also discussed are the differences in practices and adaptations across elementary, middle, and high school teachers, as well as the instructional implications of the identified homework practices for students with disabilities and their general education teachers.

The purpose of this study was to survey the perceptions of general education teachers nationwide, particularly as they relate to making testing adaptations for students with disabilities. A survey was sent to 708 general education teachers nationwide. The return rate was 56.6% (N= 401). The specific testing adaptations that were rated as being most helpful for students with disabilities were (a) giving individual help with directions during tests, (b) reading test questions to students, and (c) simplifying wording of test questions. Similarly, the specific testing adaptations that were rated as being most easy to make were (a) using black-and-white copies, (b) providing extra space on tests for answering, (c) giving practice questions as a study guide, (d) giving open-book/notes tests, and (e) giving individual help with directions during tests.In addition, a total of 247 (66.6%) general education teachers indicated that it was not fair to make testing adaptations only for students with disabilities, whereas 124 (33.4%) respondents indicated that it was fair. Other results of the study, limitations of the study, and future research needs are discussed. In recent years, school reform efforts such as the Regular Education Initiative (REI) (Will, 1986) and the inclusion movement (National Association of School Boards of Education, 1992) have paved the way for the integration of students with disabilities into general education classes. Consequently, these reform efforts have increased the likelihood of students with disabilities receiving a significant portion or all of their instruction in general education classrooms. In fact, recent federal data have confirmed this trend toward integration. During the 1990-91 school year, 35% of students with disabilities (ages 3-21) were integrated on a full-time basis into general education classrooms, an increase from the 27% of full-time included students reported in 1987 (U.S. Department of Education, 1994). Practitioners and researchers have expressed some concerns about including students with disabilities in general education classes at a time when the forces of reform (National Commission on Excellence in Education, 1983; Outcomes, 1993) have been ardently calling for an increased commitment to educational Address: Madhavi Jayanthi, Educational Research and Services Center, 425 Fisk Ave., DeKalb, IL 60115.