The most efficacious placement for mildly retarded students has been examined and debated for more than fifty years. Five historical stages can be identified in the effort to arrive at some resolution of this issue: the birth of the efficacy question, the tremendous growth in special classes, the move to abolish such classes, the search for alternatives along the continuum of services, and the recent re-analysis of appropriate placements due to changes in the population of students in programs for the mildly retarded. Research and perspectives are discussed for each of these stages and conclusions relevant to the present are drawn.
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