The effectiveness of the special class as a means for meeting the educational needs of educable mentally retarded children is being seriously questioned by individuals within and outside the profession of special education. Special educators in particular are concerned about the unfavorable results of most efficacy studies, even though legitimate criticisms have been raised regarding the validity of these studies. However, basic assumptions about the special class environment have also been made that appear unwarranted. Therefore, the actual worth of special classes as a means for differentiating instruction for the educable mentally retarded will not be known until the assumed conditions become a reality.
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