In this study, the authors explore a newly constructed dynamic assessment (DA) intended to tap inference-making skills that they hypothesize will be predictive of future comprehension performance. The authors administered the test to 100 second-grade children using a dynamic format to consider the concurrent validity of the measure. The dynamic…

The purpose of this study was to examine the cognitive and academic profiles associated with learning disability (LD) in reading comprehension, word reading, applied problems, and calculations. The goal was to assess the specificity hypothesis, in which unexpected underachievement associated with LD is represented in terms of distinctive patterns…

A study investigated the cognitive, academic, and personality characteristics of 75 adults with learning disabilities referred for services through the state/federal vocational rehabilitation system. Results found the subjects were homogenous relative to other groups of adults with learning disabilities, with low-average cognitive functioning and…

This study examined the utility of the Planning, Attention, Simultaneous, Successive (PASS) theory of intelligence as measured by the "Cognitive Assessment System" (CAS) for evaluation of children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). The CAS scores of 51 Dutch children without ADHD were compared to the scores of a group…

This article argues for the adoption of a 2-step procedure in diagnosing dyslexia: first, identify students with word list reading standard scores below 90, and then identify students with a reading score at least 10 points lower than expected from the full scale intelligence quotient. (JDD)

This article discusses recent findings concerning cognitive outcomes in traumatic brain injury (TBI) in children and adolescents, with a particular focus on age differences with TBI. It suggests a relationship between specific learning disorders and brain dysfunction, addresses differential hemispheric functioning with TBI, and outlines recent…

This study of 1,657 children (ages 7-16) found that although children with dyslexia had higher intelligence quotient scores than poor readers, the 2 groups did not differ in performance on reading, spelling, phonological processing, or most language and memory tasks. The performance of both reading-disabled groups was significantly below that of…

This study examined the development of reading and phonological processing abilities of 209 first graders assessed at the beginning and end of the school year. The discriminant analysis, based on reading and intelligence data, correctly identified later group membership (students with and without reading disabilities and "garden variety" poor…

This study analyzed the Stanford Achievement Test scores of Hawaiian students with disabilities and made comparisons to the larger normative population. After local subgroup norms were developed to supplement national norms, results indicated students with disabilities made greater gains in achievement from third to sixth grade than typical…

An ethnographic study of one elementary bilingual special education classroom found three profile types of students, ranging from severe language learning disabilities to normal abilities. Results show the inadequacy of the medical model and support a contextual performance view that acknowledges the role of instructional context in revealing the…

A study examined the efficacy of the Restricted Academic Task in evaluating the effects of stimulant medication in 149 children (ages 5-17) with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. The measure consists of standardized observation of a child performing an academic-like task, and was found to be both reliable and valid. (Author/CR)