Correlates of Success in Transition of MR To Regular Class. Volume I. Final Report.

Presented is the final report of a project which investigated the current status of 1711 Anglo, Black, and Spanish-surnamed California educable mentally retarded (EMR) students reassessed by court order in 1969-72. It is explained that Ss were matched on sex and ethnicity with regular class and non-decertified EMR students. Attempts to identify differences at EMR placement of those later decertified vs. those not are said to have produced no results, forcing a conclusion of educational equivalence at that time. It is noted that regular class means on current Metropolitan Achievement Test scores were highest, EMR lowest, but regular class and decertified distributions greatly overlapped; both were several grade levels below nominal placement. Among results reported are little ethnic difference and little difference between regular class and decertified Ss on teacher ratings of citizenship and achievement, and the same broad range in social acceptance and adjustment for decertified Ss as regular class matches on teacher questionnaire responses (both means tending to be under average for their classes). It is concluded that while decertification did not make the students average, the students nevertheless tended to succeed nearly as well as regular class matches. (Author/CL)