Special Education Research

Education news, analysis, and opinion about research focused on special education and gifted education
Special Education Webinar Examining the Evidence: Supporting Students With Disabilities
The nearly seven million students with disabilities in the United States are among those most at risk of regressing significantly amid COVID-related distance learning. Under federal law, schools are required to provide services to meet
November 20, 2020
Special Education Test Supports for Students With Disabilities Vary From Year to Year
For students with disabilities, test accommodations can make the difference in their ability to show what they know. But a new study suggests a getting such supports one year is no guarantee of help the next year.
Sarah D. Sparks, January 23, 2019
2 min read
School & District Management Research on Special Education, Career-Tech Ed., and Research Partnerships Sought by Education Department
The Institute of Education Sciences, the research agency for the U.S. Education Department, put out calls for a bevy of new research projects for fiscal 2019,
Sarah D. Sparks, June 1, 2018
2 min read
English-Language Learners Don't Underestimate, Shortchange ELLs With Disabilities, Researcher Argues
A researcher found that some educators though bilingualism was "too lofty a goal" for English-language learners with disabilities.
Corey Mitchell, March 30, 2018
2 min read
Special Education Immunizations and the Impacts of Virtual Reality: Two New Findings on Autism
New studies on autism offer insight into the parts of the brain associated with social challenges for students on the autism spectrum and how pervasive myths about the causes of autism could put children and their families at greater physical risk.
Sarah D. Sparks, March 29, 2018
4 min read
School & District Management National Institutes of Health Awards $100 Million for Autism Research
How early should young children be screened for autism? How do girls with autism spectrum disorders differ from boys? New research projects are digging deeper into how we identify and support children with autism spectrum disorders.
Sarah D. Sparks, October 2, 2017
3 min read
English-Language Learners Bridging Language Gaps for Deaf Children
New research and applications may help young children with both normal hearing and deafness improve their literacy.
Sarah D. Sparks, May 10, 2016
5 min read
School & District Management Students With Down Syndrome Grow a Community for Research
A federal registry aims to connect students with Down syndrome to each other and to researchers.
Sarah D. Sparks, January 16, 2015
1 min read
Special Education How Can Teachers Build on Gifted, Hyperactive Students' Strengths?
New studies provide insight into ways to help students with attention deficits succeed academically.
Sarah D. Sparks, August 7, 2014
4 min read
Special Education Study Highlights Promising Reading Intervention for Children with Low IQs
After up to four years of intervention, students with mild or moderate intellectual disabilities were able to read 1st-grade-level text, new research finds.
Holly Kurtz, June 4, 2014
3 min read
School & District Management Permanent Chief Selected for Federal Special Education Research Center
Joan McLaughlin, the new chief, has served in the position in an acting capacity since July 2013.
Sarah D. Sparks, January 28, 2014
2 min read
School & District Management Joan McLaughlin to Lead Federal Special Education Research Center
Joan McLaughlin has been named commissioner of the National Center for Special Education Research, cementing the role she has held as an acting commissioner since July.
Sarah D. Sparks, January 28, 2014
2 min read
Student Achievement New Grant to Spur Deafness Research
A $10 million federal grant will support a nerw center to study the education of deaf children.
Sarah D. Sparks, July 10, 2012
1 min read
Early Childhood Study: Sharing Attention Can Improve Language for Autistic Students
A new University of California, Los Angeles study finds that teaching autistic preschoolers to share attention during play can improve their language skills five years later.
Sarah D. Sparks, June 27, 2012
1 min read