This paper aims to translate for practitioners the principles and methods for evaluating screening measures in education, including benchmark goals and cut points, from our technical manuscript "Evaluation of Diagnostic Systems: The Selection of Students at Risk of Academic Difficulties" (this issue). We offer a brief description of…

This paper reviews current proposals concerning the definition of dyslexia and contrasts it with reading comprehension impairment. We then discuss methods for early identification and review evidence that teacher assessments and ratings may be valid screening tools. Finally, we argue that interventions should be theoretically motivated and…

Planning, developing, implementing, and sustaining organizational change, such as Response to Intervention (RTI), is a complex endeavor. This brief is designed to give practitioners guidance based on the implementation activities of middle school practitioners across the country. The authors recognize that secondary schools must consider many…

Written by leading special education researchers with the National Research Center on Learning Disabilities and the University of Kansas, this comprehensive yet accessible reference provides administrators with practical guidelines for launching RTI in their schools. Highlighting the powerful role that RTI can play in prevention, early…

Methods of deriving more information from auditory discrimination tests of learning disabled children in order to better diagnose and provide programing are described. (PHR)

Identifies some functional vision problems and describes some assessment procedures for determining whether a child needs professional help. (MKM)

The review of the Test of Written Language-2 (TOWL-2) raises concerns about alternate forms reliability, subtest reliability, content validity, and omissions. It concludes that the TOWL-2 is an expanded and greatly modified version of the original test but may not be appropriate for identifying a student's specific writing problems. (DB)

This booklet presents a screening device to identify quickly those students who may qualify for special help but who have not been referred for testing, identification, and receiving of special education resources. The booklet notes that the original test consisted of 20 sentences, but that only one sentence gave students known to have severe…

The role of optometry in the study of learning difficulties and the problems of interpreting research results in the fields of optometry and ophthalmology are discussed. Limitations of school visual screening are described, and it is suggested that many children with learning difficulties should be referred for a full clinical visual examination.…

Part I of this document contains materials that relate to the Screening Test for Adult Learning Difficulties (STALD). The test, other testing materials, and test administrator's sheets are provided as attachments. The test is aimed at screening adult learners individually to see whether characteristics common to adults with learning difficulties…

The adequacy of the Woodcock-Johnson Psycho-Educational Battery, Part II: Tests of Achievement, for identifying and diagnosing learning disabled college students was examined using 68 subjects. Results indicated that ceiling effects were less pervasive than with regular college students. Cluster and subtest reliabilities proved adequate for use in…

The manual describes Maryland's programs and processes for serving learning disabled students. Teacher Assistance Teams, a support service for classroom teachers, is the focus of Chapter 1, which examines the team's composition, function, and responsibilities. Chapter 2 presents the state's admission, review, and dismissal process for special…

The study assessed the utility of different factor structures of the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Revised in differentiating Israeli male students (ages 6-16) with learning disability from children with emotional disturbance. Based on several comparisons the results indicated that only the modified A.S. Kaufman's factor structure…

The study found that primary grade children with reading impairments (n=24) or learning disabilities (n=8) demonstrated a marked deficit in ability to discriminate patterned pairs of tones on the Seashore Rhythm Test compared to controls (n=26). Results suggest use of the test to detect young children with potential reading problems. (Author/DB)

The interview with G. N. Getman, a developmental optometrist specializing in learning problems and disabilities, focuses on vision's impact on learning, the role of the vision specialist in the remediation of learning problems and disabilities, early screening programs, and visual training programs. (DLS)