The legibility components (letter formation, spacing, alignment and size) and speed of handwriting were assessed for 575 children in grades 3 to 7. Interrater reliabilities were high (·69 to ·97) and test-retest reliability over one week was lower for legibility (·44 to ·84) than for speed (·93). In general, reliabilities were higher for the older children. Correlations among legibility components ranged from ·46 to •76, though a principal factor analysis indicated that letter formation, spacing, alignment and size were discriminable elements of legibility. Correlations of legibility component scores with teacher ratings ranged between ·52 and ·76. Norms for speed were consistent with Groff's data and girls wrote significantly faster and smaller than boys. Girls also made fewer errors in letter formation than boys in grades 3, 4 and 5. Graphs indicating normative performance on the handwriting tasks were prepared.

No abstract

This study investigated the attitudes of 354 Australian parents who have a child with a disability and who attends a state school in Queensland. The types of disability of the children were broadly in accordance with accepted prevalence figures, except for a greater number reported as having autistic spectrum disorder and fewer students with a learning difficulty/attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. The children were in a range of classes, from special schools to schools where there was in-class help from a special teacher or teacher aide. Many of the parents favoured inclusion, some would if additional resources were provided, and a small group of parents favoured special placement. There were a limited number of negative attitudes to inclusion reported by the parents, and though some parents thought that some need existed for in-service education about inclusion, this was not a widespread view.

This project reports on the characteristics of over 3000 children enrolled in Child ServiceDemonstration Centers for Learning Disabilities in 21 states. The major results o f the questionnaire study revealed that: (1) most of the children were in the lower elementary grades, (2) the sex ratio was three boys to one girl, (3) of the children enrolled, approximately trvothirds were rated as reading problems, (4) the median educational retardation w s one grade below the mental age reading grade expectancy, (5) the retardation in reading and spelling w s one-half grade more than the retardation in arithmetic, (6) the distribution of IQs contained a larger proportion with below average ability than is found in the general population of children, and (7) the resource room was the most commonly used method for the delivery of service. In general, children with learning disabilities are defined by most o f the Child Service Demonstration Centers to be those who are below grade in educational achievement, especially in reading. . However, the opinions expressed herein do not necessarily reflect the position or policy of the U.S. Office of Education, and no official endorsement by the U.S. Office of Education should be inferred.

No abstract

Computational facility and the relationship between automaticity or efficient processing of addition facts and success in more complex tasks were examined in a cross-sectional study of 109 children from Grades 3 through 6. Latency data and interview protocols enabled identification of speed and strategy use on the addition facts, grouped into eight fact bundles (e.g. zeroes, small doubles), as a parsimonious procedure for exploring processing efficiency. Profiles of children based on latency performance on the fact bundles were clustered. The slowest cluster reported use of counting strategies on many bundles; the fastest cluster reported use of retrieval or efficient-thinking strategies. Cluster group was the best predictor of performance on multidigit tasks. Addition fact accuracy contributed only for tasks without carrying, and grade level was not significant. Analysis by error type showed most errors on the multidigit sums were due to fact inaccuracy, not algorithmic errors. The implication is that the cognitive demands caused by inefficient solutions of basic facts made the multidigit sums inaccessible. Suggestions for instruction of students who have problems learning basic arithmetic are made.Mathematics education has changed dramatically during the twentieth century from a focus on rote acquisition of arithmetic and geometric facts and algorithms, to a constructivist emphasis on meaning-making, conceptual understanding, and problem-solving. Activities that promote rote learning in mathematics have lost favour as being anti-learning (if not anti-mathematical), time-consuming, and Requests for reprints should be sent to J. Joy Cumming,

Organisational support from a number of levels needs to be in place if schools are going to achieve success in developing an inclusive school culture. Support at policy level is frequently in place, however the gap between policy and practice is a continuing challenge. In this in‐depth study of an Australian secondary school Suzanne Carrington and John Elkins offer insights into the culture of an inclusive school and the processes of translating inclusive policy to inclusive practice.

In this article, we provide an understanding of the term numeracy as it is used in Australia and a description of numeracy education in this country. In particular, we discuss the role of outcomes-based curriculum frameworks and outline the dominant teaching approaches. The focus is on students with learning difficulties and how they are identified and supported in schools. We create two vignettes based on real students with difficulties in numeracy, which highlight two of the most common problems. We report on the prevalence of learning difficulties in numeracy in Australia and describe some of the initiatives related to the assessment and enhancement of learning in numeracy that are being undertaken in various states in Australia. Finally, we identify some of the future challenges facing the Australian education system in this area. These challenges relate to teacher knowledge, mandated assessment, and the role of parents. We conclude the article by calling for the evaluation of current assessment and intervention initiatives as well as the development of a national program to support the goal of numeracy for all students.