Ensuring Content‐Area Learning by Secondary Students with Learning Disabilities

Three factors tied with secondary student success in content‐area reading are demonstrated: (a) validated teacher‐focused and student‐focused interventions, (b) integrated and comprehensive service delivery systems, and (c) well‐designed, data‐based professional developmental programs. Difficult challenges face secondary students with LD and their teachers with regard to these students’ participation and success in required general education classes. Recently, instructional methods and materials have been developed and validated for promoting these students’ success. Some of them focus on how general education teachers plan and teach their content‐area courses; others focus on giving students the strategies they need to respond independently to the demands of their courses. This article describes these instructional methods, a service‐delivery model for implementing these interventions in secondary schools, and professional‐development mechanisms and administrative support that must be in place for the model to be maintained effectively.     

A systematic review and meta‐analysis of the effectiveness of information and communication technology (ICT) on the teaching of spelling

Recent Government policy in England and Wales on Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in schools is heavily influenced by a series of non‐randomised controlled studies. The evidence from these evaluations is equivocal with respect to the effect of ICT on literacy. In order to ascertain whether there is any effect of ICT on one small area of literacy, spelling, a systematic review of all randomised controlled trials (RCTs) was undertaken. Relevant electronic databases (including BEI, ERIC, Web of Science, PsycINFO, The Cochrane Library) were searched. Seven relevant RCTs were identified and included in the review. When six of the seven studies were pooled in a meta‐analysis there was an effect, not statistically significant, in favour of computer interventions (Effect size = 0.37, 95% confidence interval =–0.02 to 0.77, p = 0.06). Sensitivity and sub‐group analyses of the results did not materially alter findings. This review suggests that the teaching of spelling by using computer software may be as effective as conventional teaching of spelling, although the possibility of computer‐taught spelling being inferior or superior cannot be confidently excluded due to the relatively small sample sizes of the identified studies. Ideally, large pragmatic randomised controlled trials need to be undertaken.     

The Potential of Interactive Video

Interactive video combines two well‐established media, video cassette and computer‐assisted learning (CAL), in an attempt to combine the advantages and overcome the deficiencies of both. The paper describes a feasibility study of the medium, using a package that includes a video presentation intercut with interactive CAL programs, on the subject of signals in communication technology. The necessary hardware is described, and two ways of authoring the educational software are compared. Finally, the educational implications of the new medium are discussed together with a consideration of the logistic and administrative problems it presents.     

FUNDAMENTALISM AND EDUCATION: A Case‐study in Social Ambiguity

Religious fundamentalism has played a significant role in the contemporary conserviative attack on public education. For those who are concerned to defend even the limited degree of liberal or progressive education now existing, it is essential to understand the nature and implications of this populist and reactionary social phenomenon whose appeal is enhanced by the current social and economic crisis. Using the Seventh‐ day Adventist Church in case study fashion, the article draws upon sect literature, documents and interviews, to outline normative Adventist assumptions and practice in schooling. On the basis of this analysis, an explanation of the ambivalence of fundamentalism to education is offered. It is argued that while fundamentalism is typically antithetical to social pluralism, secular or humanistic morality and lifestyles and progressive education, it supports the unequal economic and social structures of contemporary western society. Hence fundamentalism typically seeks to control the process and substance of education, not to eliminate it.     

The Perceptions of Administrators Concerning the One Florida Initiative

The purpose of this study was to discover the perceptions of Florida law school administrators on the impact of the OFI （one Florida initiative） and the addition of two MSI （minority serving institution） law schools on diversity in Florida＇s legal profession. This research explored the impact of Governor Bush＇s EO （executive order） on diversity within the SUS （state university system） of Florida law schools. Further, this study examined the impact of the creation of two MSI law schools after implementation of the OFI, as perceived by the administrators. The concept of CRT （critical race theory） provides modern legal debates outlining the usefulness of historical civil rights policies in opinionated climates. This study will examine the role of CRT in relation to affirmative action and desegregation case law. CRT forms the framework for examining the impact of the creation of two MSI law schools in the state of Florida. In conclusion, this study found that minority representation in law schools has improved in Florida as a result of the OFI as well as the addition of two MSI law schools. Black representation, however, continues to lag behind other races, particularly the Hispanic population. This study concluded that the OFI has helped improve minority representation in the legal profession.     

Developing local oral reading fluency cut scores for predicting high‐stakes test performance

This study evaluated the classification accuracy of a second grade oral reading fluency curriculum‐based measure (R‐CBM) in predicting third grade state test performance. It also compared the long‐term classification accuracy of local and publisher‐recommended R‐CBM cut scores. Participants were 266 students who were divided into a calibration sample (n = 170) and two cross‐validation samples (n = 46; n = 50), respectively. Using calibration sample data, local fall, winter, and spring R‐CBM cut scores for predicting students’ state test performance were developed using three methods: discriminant analysis (DA), logistic regression (LR), and receiver operating characteristic curve analysis (ROC). The classification accuracy of local and publisher‐recommended cut scores was evaluated across subsamples. Only DA and ROC produced cut scores that maintained adequate sensitivity (≥.70) across cohorts; however, LR and publisher‐recommended scores had higher levels of specificity and overall correct classification. Implications for developing local cut scores are discussed.