A Comparison of Behaviors Displayed by Elementary, Middle School, and High School Students with Mental Retardation in Regular Education and Resource Rooms

The primary focus of the current study was to explore the academic engaged time and the accelerators of academic responses of students with mental retardation in general education and resource room settings. Observations were conducted using a computerized observational recording program Ecobehavioral Assessment Systems Software (EBASS) that was designed to evaluate the effectiveness of special education settings. The current study involved two elementary, two middle school, and two high school students with mild mental retardation (MR). Results indicated that academic engagement was generally two-and-a-halftimes higher for all students in resource rooms than in regular classrooms. Furthermore, more and generally different accelerators of academic responding occurred in resource rooms when compared to those observed in regular classrooms. Implications of the current findings were discussed as well as recommendations for future research