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Biomedical subjects

L S Fuchs

Publications and source records attributed to L S Fuchs.

14 recordsLinked to original sources

Prereferral intervention: a prescriptive approach.

This investigation assessed effects of three increasingly inclusive versions of the Behavioral Consultation (BC) model on problem behavior of students in mainstream classrooms in an effort to develop an effective and efficient approach to prereferral intervention. Subjects were 43 general educators, their 43 most difficult-to-teach students (without disabilities), and 12 school consultants, representing seven inner-city middle schools. Teachers and students were assigned to three BC groups, representing least (BC 1), more (BC 2), and most (BC 3) inclusive variants of BC, and one control group. Preintervention, postintervention, and follow-up observations of student behavior indicated that more inclusive BC versions exerted stronger effects than the least inclusive variant in reducing problem behavior. Theoretical and practical implications for consultation-related activity are discussed.

Behavior Therapy

Effects of examiner familiarity on Black, Caucasian, and Hispanic children: a meta-analysis.

This article presents a quantitative synthesis of examiner familiarity effects on Caucasian and minority students' test performance. Fourteen controlled studies were coded in terms of methodological quality (high vs. low) and race-ethnicity (Caucasian vs. Black and Hispanic). An analogue to analysis of variance conducted on weighted unbiased effect sizes indicated that examiner familiarity produced a significant effect, with Caucasian and minority examinees' test performance raised by .05 and .72 standard deviations, respectively. Examiner familiarity's differential effect on Caucasian and minority examinees did not interact with the methodological quality of the studies. Nevertheless, limitations of the extant data base require caution in drawing implications for assessment practice.

Achievement

Effects of curriculum-based measurement on teachers' instructional planning.

This study assessed the effects of curriculum-based measurement (CBM) on teachers' instructional planning. Subjects were 30 teachers, assigned randomly to a computer-assisted CBM group, a noncomputer CBM group, and a contrast group. In the CBM groups, teachers specified 15-week reading goals, established CBM systems to measure student progress toward goals at least twice weekly, and systematically evaluated those data bases to determine when instructional modifications were necessary. Contrast teachers monitored student progress toward Individualized Education Program (IEP) goals as they wished and were encouraged to develop instructional programs as necessary. At the end of a 12- to 15-week implementation period, teachers completed a questionnaire with reference to one randomly selected pupil. Analyses of variance indicated no difference between the CBM groups. However, compared to the contrast group, CBM teachers (a) used more specific, acceptable goals; (b) were less optimistic about goal attainment; (c) cited more objective and frequent data sources for determining the adequacy of student progress and for deciding whether program modifications were necessary; and (d) modified student programs more frequently. Questionnaire responses were correlated with verifiable data sources, and results generally supported the usefulness of the self-report information. Implications for special education research and practice are discussed.

Adolescent

Effects of goal structures and performance contingencies on the math performance of adolescents with learning disabilities.

This study assessed the effects of assigned versus self-selected goals and contingent versus noncontingent gameplay conditions, delivered during computer-assisted math computation drill-and-practice sessions. Participants were 20 high school pupils with learning disabilities who had active Individualized Education Plan (IEP) goals that targeted the improvement of computational skills. Students were assigned randomly to goal conditions and, within goal conditions, to contingency groups. Math computation performance was measured pre-, mid-, and posttreatment. Analyses of variance indicated that students who selected their goals performed better than pupils with assigned goals. No differences existed between the contingency groups. Implications for practice are discussed.

Adolescent

Test performance of language-handicapped children with familiar and unfamiliar examiners.

The importance of examiner familiarity to children's performance on tasks requiring high or low levels of symbolic mediation was investigated. Thirty-four handicapped preschool children were examined within a repeated measures crossover design, once by one of two familiar classroom teachers and once by one of four strange teachers. Subjects performed significantly better with familiar than with unfamiliar examiners on high symbolic mediation tasks; no such differential performance was obtained on low symbolic mediation items. Findings are related to current efforts to identify procedural and situational variables in assessment, uncontrolled by present standard test administrations, that may preclude children's optimal performance.

Child, Preschool

Effects of curriculum within curriculum-based measurement.

This study assessed the effects of curriculum on technical features within curriculum-based measurement in reading. Curriculum was defined as the difficulty of material and the basal series from which students read. Technical features were the criterion validity and developmental growth rates associated with the measurement. Ninety-one students took a commercial, widely used test of reading comprehension and read orally for 1 minute from each of 19 passages, one from each grade level within two reading series. Correlations between the oral reading samples and the test of reading comprehension were similar across difficulty levels and across series. Developmental growth rates also remained strong regardless of difficulty level and series.

Achievement

Instructional and curricular requisites of mainstreamed students with learning disabilities.

The successful integration of students with learning disabilities into mainstream reading classes may require teachers to adapt instruction and curricula in major ways. In this article, we discuss the relation between the instruction prescribed by standardized commercial curricula and the reading achievement of mainstreamed students with learning disabilities and other low-performing nonhandicapped students. An instructional template designed to complement commercially published reading lessons is described and its effects on the reading achievement of mainstreamed students with learning disabilities examined. Next, the limitations of generic instructional procedures to rectify the deficiencies of mainstream curricular programs for students with greater-than-average instructional needs are reviewed. We conclude with a discussion of the complexity of educating instructively needy learners in mainstream settings and the significance of well-designed instruction.

Achievement

Mainstream assistance teams: a scientific basis for the art of consultation.

The purpose of this investigation was to determine whether a consultant-driven prereferral intervention may be shortened in duration, thereby improving its efficiency, without reducing its effectiveness. Subjects were 60 general educators; their 60 most difficult-to-teach pupils without disabilities; and 22 consultants, representing 17 elementary schools in a large metropolitan school system. The teachers were assigned randomly to a short (n = 24) and long version (n = 24) of the prereferral intervention and to a control group (n = 12). Analyses indicated that the two variants of the prereferral intervention improved teacher perceptions of their difficult-to-teach students and decreased referrals for testing and possible special education placement. Moreover, results suggested that the short and long versions were equally effective. Implications for consultation-related activity are discussed.

Child