The Age Placement of Academic Skills in Curriculum for the EMR

The purpose of this study was to investigate the importance and age placement of certain operationally defined skill objectives relative to instructional programs for the educable mentally retarded and to compare the behavior of pupils in special classes with that of a representative sample. The basic skill areas included vocabulary, reading, language usage, punctuation, capitalization, spelling, arithmetic problem solving, arithmetic concepts, and work-study skills. Each skill was illustrated and operationally defined by a test item designed to specify the behavior required of the pupil and the difficulty of the skill. In all, 204 samples of behavior were studied. The importance of emphasizing academic skills in instructional programs for the EMR was assessed through the use of a specially designed inventory of skills. The inventory was submitted to 2 groups of judges for evaluation. The illustrative items were also organized into experimental tests and administered to 1,405 EMR children between the ages of 9 and 18 and to a representative sample of 2,187 pupils in grades 3 through 8.