Michael H. Epstein

Psychopharmacological Intervention I Teacher Perceptions of Psychotropic Medication for Students with Serious Emotional Disturbance

A 27-item questionnaire was used to explore the perceptions, knowledge, and opinions of 146 teachers of students with serious emotional disturbance regarding medication used with their students. The results indicated that the students doctor was perceived as the leading professional responsible for taking steps to have the student on or off medication for behavior disorders. Parents, the school psychologist, and the students case committee had a moderate degree of influence on such decisions. The doctor and school psychologist were perceived to be responsible for determining the type of assessments used for evaluating drug effects. Teachers rated global impressions as the assessment procedure used most frequently for such evaluations, but suggested that informal teacher diary would be their choice. Hyperactivity and delusions/hallucinations were seen as the behavior disorders that most likely would lead to medication and, to a lesser extent, acting out and aggression. In general, the teachers desired more involvement in drug decisions and better liaison with the doctors. In addition, they uniformly suggested that their preservice and inservice training in matters related to drug treatment was inadequate, and indicated that there was a great need for further training in this area. Changes in current school policies and practices were suggested by the teachers.

Corrective Reading Program An Analysis of Effectiveness with Learning Disabled and Mentally Retarded Students

The Corrective Reading Program (CRP) was used with a group of learning disabled (LD) and educable mentally retarded (EMR) adolescents with data collected on the achievement of these students in the domains of reading recognition and comprehension. When compared to reading progress made in prior years, both groups showed significantly greater improvement. LD students experienced larger achievement gains than EMR students in both recognition and comprehension with differences in the former domain being statistically significant. Implications are discussed with regard to the two issues of possible benefits of a remedial orientation in curricula for adolescent students and of the validity of cross-categorical programming, respectively.

Direct Instruction: Effects on Oral and Written Language Comprehension

Twenty-three learning disabled children were randomly assigned to three different classrooms, one of which served as a control condition. The two experimental classrooms consisted of homogeneous groups of students who were provided behaviorally based instruction, including direct instruction in language skills such as vocabulary, statement repetition, literal and inferential comprehension, and basic facts (e.g., names of months). At posttesting on the Slosson Intelligence and Gilmore Oral Reading tests the mean score of the experimental classes were found to be approximately three-fourths of a standard deviation higher that the means for the control group, a directionally significant difference in both cases. The results are discussed as support for the proposition that use of direct instruction procedures is a successful means of overcoming the learning difficulties of children considered learning disabled.

Teacher Ratings of Hyperactivity in Learning-Disabled, Emotionally Disturbed, and Mentally Retarded Children

Teachers of LD, ED, MR, and nonhandicapped pupils rated their pupils on the Abbreviated Teacher Rating Scale, a measure used to assess hyperactivity. The prevalence, distribution, and pattern of hyperactivity within and among these groups were analyzed. Age and sex differences were also studied. The findings are discussed in relation to cross-cultural research on hyperactivity and are integrated into research on the behavioral characteristics of mildly handicapped pupils.

Report Card Grading and Adaptations: A National Survey of Classroom Practices

A national survey of elementary and secondary general education teachers (N = 368, response rate of 52%) was conducted to determine the classroom grading practices of general education teachers, including grading adaptations for students with disabilities. Results of this self report survey indicated that teachers find letter and number grades more helpful for students without disabilities than for those with disabilities. Results also indicated that teachers find certain grading adaptations—such as pass-fail grades, portfolios, multiple grades, and grading for effort—helpful for students both with and without disabilities. Implications for training, research, and practice are included.

Behavior problems of educationally handicapped and normal pupils

Male pupils identified as behaviorally disordered, learning disabled, and educable mentally retarded, as well as nonidentified normal boys, were rated by their teachers on the Behavior Problem Checklist. Analyses of the ratings indicated significant differences for pupil category, Behavior Problem Checklist dimension, and category by dimension interaction, but no significant differences for age alone or in interaction with other factors. Categories of pupils were best discriminated from one another on the basis of Conduct Disorder and Personality Problem dimensions of the Behavior Problem Checklist. Results were discussed in terms of some implications for special education and further research suggested by the present findings.

An Evaluation of History Textbooks

Textbooks are the most predominant instructional medium used in America today. Recent research indicates that the issue of textbook readability is complex, extending beyond traditional text evaluation based on readability formulas. In this study, 10 eighth-grade texts were evaluated with respect to factors such as global coherence, local coherence, questioning techniques, and vocabulary development. Results are discussed in terms of instructional implications.

Academic Performance of Behaviorally Disordered and Learning-Disabled Pupils

The purpose of the study was to contrast the academic performance of behaviorally disordered (BD) and learning-disabled (LD) pupils. Sixteen LD and 16 BD pupils were given three standardized achievement tests. In 10 of 12 comparisons significant dif ferences were found; in all cases BD pupils were functioning at a higher grade level than were LD pupils. Implications in relation to cross-categorical education are discussed.

Treatment Acceptability: Determining Appropriate Interventions Within Inclusive Classrooms

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

Classroom Grading: A National Survey of Policies

Acritical area of concern to teachers, administrators, students, and parents is the evaluation and grading of student performance. the topic of grading takes on added significance when consideration is given to the grading of students with disabilities and to the related effects on collaboration between home and school. A national survey was conducted, with the purpose being to determine the policies of local school districts concerning grading. Specific foci included whether a policy was in effect, if modifications were made for students with disabilities, the nature of grading systems used, and communication mechanisms between home and school. A total of 550 surveys were mailed to school district superintendents, with a response rate of over 40%. The results indicated that a majority of school divisions had a policy on grading in effect and that the policies in effect included modifications for students with disabilities. Trends in terms of grading systems used and communication mechanisms employed are highlighted. The results are discussed in terms of their relationship to home-school collaboration and in the context of integrating students with disabilities into general education.