Maynard C. Reynolds

The Necessary Restructuring of Special and Regular Education

The categories used in special education for mildly handicapped students are not reliable nor valid as indicators of particular forms of education. Their use is expensive and inefficient; they cause much disjointedness in school programs. It is recommended that a program of pilot projects be initiated in conjunction with regular educators to redesign categorical programs and policies.

A Framework for Considering Some Issues in Special Education

ROWING attention is being given to creating conceptual framework for consideration of special education problems. Outlined below is one way of thinking about the broad range of services provided under special education. The framework is presented schematically, along with a brief discussion of its features, and then utilized to discuss some current issues. Consideration is given only to handicapped children, since programs for the gifted seem not to fit the structure is developed here.

Categories and Variables in Special Education

This paper advocates an educationally focused definition of problems and procedures in educating handicapped children, with particular emphasis on the aptitude by treatment interaction model as a useful guide for both instructional and research activities. Specialized instructional systems based on decision variables are proposed as an alternative to simple categorization and placement of children based on source variables. A brief review of aptitude by treatment interaction research with handicapped children is followed by implications for the organization of schooling, diagnostic and instructional procedures, and preparation of teachers.

Avoiding the “Catch 22” in Special Education Reform

This article points out a critical barrier to effective implementation of the “least restrictive environment” mandate of Public Law 94–142. A brief review of the major recommendations of the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) Panel on Selection and Placement of Students in Programs for the Mentally Retarded and a discussion of the implications for actualizing the recommendations in the context of current policy and funding practice in special education are provided. The conditions and decisions surrounding the institution and discontinuation of an educational program that incorporates design features aimed at achieving the programming and classification objectives identified by the NAS Panel are described, and some of the major policy and implementation issues surrounding reform in this area are delineated.

A Profession in a Hurry: The Need for Standards

Special education programs have grown very rapidly in the past two decades. Busy special educators have been thrust into the role of spearheading new modes of operation for the remainder of the educational enterprise. This hurried pace of development and leadership has involved some neglect of quality standards. In this context, CECs policy statement on professional standards, adopted in Toronto in April, 1966, is discussed, with emphasis upon the inevitability of gradualness in developing and regulating standards and upon the importance of continuing activities in the standards field.

20/20 Analysis: Taking a Close Look at the Margins

This article presents “20/20 Analysis” as an experimental, output-oriented, noncategorical alternative to traditional approaches to identification of students for special education. 20/20 Analysis identifies students showing least (below 20th percentile) and most (above 80th percentile) progress toward important objectives of education in a school. The situation of each student in low 20% and high 20% groups is then examined as a basis for broad (noncategorical) approaches to improvement of learning opportunities. Case studies of two schools are presented. Policy implications are considered briefly.

The Knowledge Bases for Special and General Education

This study was designed to review generally the knowledge base relating to pedagogical procedures and then to determine whether special and general education teachers and educators in several other roles would agree on importance of the principles that emerged. The study began with a comprehensive synthesis of the research review literature related to learning. The literature covered 179 major publications in the fields of special and general education. The results were summarized in the form of a 228-item survey questionnaire on items potentially valuable for learning environments. The questionnaire was administered to a panel of advisors and eight other groups of educators, including general and special education teachers. In this article we report briefly on the literature synthesis, then summarize results of the surveys. Results showed a very high degree of consensus about variables considered important for creating learning environments. Consensus was especially strong among teachers, cutting across both general education and special education, a result interpreted as evidence that teacher preparation in the several fields could be done mainly in a single or combined program.

Special Education as a Profession.

Sequence Description During this rigorous practicum, candidates will their work with their co-teachers as they transition into fulltime teaching responsibilities. The experiences in this practicum are designed to allow candidates to apply their accumulated knowledge and skills, and measure their growth in the areas of planning, instruction, and assessment while reflecting on what teacher candidates should know and be able to do prior to endorsement. Candidates will work with their Co-teacher five days per week while being supervised at the school site by their University Supervisor. Monday night seminars will be held on campus and lead by the University Supervisor to encourage critical thinking around teaching experiences and issues. During this practicum, candidates will also complete the Impact on Student Learning Project. Candidates will administer, analyze, and reflect upon their unit. CIEP 512 Seminar is the culmination of the teacher preparation program in both demand and expectation. Candidates will be observed and evaluated in a formative but rigorous manner as they progress toward mastery of their professional skills. This practicum will challenge students within their teaching context to examine their perspectives, understandings and practices in teaching learning and leading.

Categorical vs. Noncategorical Teacher Training.

When education is provided in any manner other than having the teacher on one end of a log and the pupil on the other end, students obviously must be classified and grouped for instruction according to some rational scheme. Random groupings have been unthinkable since the one-room, country school house became extinct. Unfortunately, the ways we have been classifying and grouping children in special education and tracking teachers for training in special education, I contend, have not been fully rational. Despite all our concerns with providing the best education possible for children and training enough teachers to serve them, eve have never thought through the question of what is

Montevideo Individualized Prescriptive Instructional Management System

This article describes a computer-based measurement system for monitoring student progress through an individualized math and reading curriculum. Time to complete units of instruction is used as a metric for assessing individual goals and for normative comparisons. An investigation was conducted to determine whether special education and Chapter 1 students could be identified in reference to the number of units of instruction completed by the end of a school year. Results indicate that a cutoff at the 20th percentile of the distribution for each grade correctly identified 100% of the special education students. The implications of adopting a curriculum-based screening system are discussed.