Evaluating Mainstreaming in Urban Elementary Schools through an Analysis of Students' Weekly Schedules

In a study of the mainstreaming practices of a large urban school district, schedules of 844 mildly handicapped elementary students were examined. Schedule appropriateness was defined by three factors: assignments of handicapped students to a fixed group of regular students, to a grade-appropriate group, and for the full sequence of scheduled instruction. In addition, school variables (such as total student enrollment and enrollment of handicapped students by grade) were analyzed. On the average, handicapped students were scheduled to spend very little time in regular education classes, with only 3% to 7% of students assigned to regular academic classes. More than one-third of the handicapped students were assigned to classes below their grade level. Further, only 39% of the handicapped students had assignments to all of their regular education classes that were for the full sequence of sceduled instruction. The only school variable found to be significantly related to appropriate schedules was total school enrollment, which was positively correlated with assignments for full instructional sequence. (CL)]