When do item adaptations veer from their intent and, instead of increasing access, modify the construct being measured? This study analyzed early elementary student achievement data from a statewide field test containing both standard and adapted science items. Four student groups were included in this analysis: English language learners, students…

Extreme linkings are performed in settings in which neither equivalent groups nor anchor material is available to link scores on two assessments. Examples of extreme linkages include links between scores on tests administered in different languages or between scores on tests administered across disability groups. The strength of interpretation…

The present study explores the extent to which maternal attachment and teacher--student attachment-like relationships explain the socioemotional adaptation of students with disabilities. Participants consisted of 65 dyads of homeroom teachers and their students (from a middle-to-low-class area in Northern Israel) with learning disabilities (LD),…

Researchers in the fields of cognitive psychology and education have been studying the negative effects of noise on human performance for almost a century. A new empirical study that builds upon past relevant research on (1) test accommodations and (2) auditory distraction and academic performance was conducted with elementary age students.…

This study explored the double-deficit hypothesis (DDH) in a transparent orthography (Finnish) and extended the view from reading disabilities to comorbidity of learning-related problems in math and attention. Children referred for evaluation of learning disabilities in second through sixth grade (N = 205) were divided into four groups based on…

According to the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, geometry and spatial sense are fundamental components of mathematics learning. However, learning disabilities (LD) research has shown that many K-12 students encounter particular geometry difficulties (GD). This study examined the effect of an integrated object representation (IOR)…

No previous empirical study has investigated whether the learning disabilities (LD) identification decisions of proposed methods to operationalize processing strengths and weaknesses approaches for LD identification are associated with differential treatment response. We investigated whether the identification decisions of the…

Many students with learning disabilities (SLD) participate in standardized assessments using test accommodations such as extended time, having the test items read aloud, or taking the test in a separate setting. Yet there are also aspects of the test items themselves, particularly the language demand, which may contribute to the effects of test…

Writing may be an especially useful tool for improving the reading comprehension of lower performing readers and students with disabilities. However, it is reasonable to expect that students with poor writing skills in particular, may actually be less adept at using writing to improve their reading skills, and may not be able to do so without…

Recently, federal legislation has been implemented requiring that public school students meet a specified performance level of academic proficiency by the 2013/2014 school year. This reform movement, known as "No Child Left Behind" (NCLB), was passed by Congress and incorporates many of President Bush's educational reform proposals…

Current assessment practices in the United States are not able to accurately capture the total linguistic, cognitive, and achievement abilities of bilingual learners. There are psychometric complexities involved when assessing and interpreting test results of bilingual students, which impact the validity of this practice. Further, the compromise…

To insure academic success for students with learning disabilities, it is critical that educators are able to make timely and effective instructional decisions. The focus of this study was to evaluate the relationship and effectiveness of two different progress monitoring tools, a measure of oral reading fluency and the Wilson Reading System's…

Emotional and cognitive factors were examined in 18 children with mathematical learning disabilities (MLD), compared with 18 normally achieving children, matched for chronological age, school level, gender and verbal IQ. Working memory, short-term memory, inhibitory processes, speed of processing and level of anxiety in mathematics were assessed…

No Child Left Behind requires school districts to demonstrate adequate yearly progress in mathematics for all students, including the sub-population of disabled students. Given that more than 200 Ohio school districts have implemented Everyday Mathematics (EM) to achieve this mandate, districts need to know if this standards-based program meets…

This study examined whether distractor choices functioned differently for students without learning disabilities than they functioned for students with learning disabilities who received no accommodation, students with learning disabilities who received a read-aloud accommodation, and students with learning disabilities who received some form of…