This study investigated the predictive validity of a dynamic assessment designed to evaluate later risk for reading difficulty in bilingual Latino children at risk for language impairment. During kindergarten, 63 bilingual Latino children completed a dynamic assessment nonsense-word recoding task that yielded pretest to posttest gain scores,…

The purpose of the present studies was to provide the means to create brief versions of instruments that can aid the diagnosis and classification of students with learning disabilities and comorbid disorders (e.g., attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder). A sample of 1,108 students with and without a diagnosis of learning disabilities took part…

To better identify the auditory strengths of elementary school children, a test was developed using a pure tone approach with sets of signals. (SBH)

To identify classroom behaviors that differentiate primary-level students with learning disabilities (LD) from their nondisabled peers, two scales of 83 items each were devised and piloted. Two subscales and 18 individual items were found to discriminate students later classified as LD and those referred but not subsequently classified as LD.…

The study found that the Kaufman Assessment Battery for Children (K-ABC) was valid in predicting reading, mathematics, and written expression for Black, Hispanic, and White male students referred for special education services. The K-ABC scores were not valid predictors, however, of written language achievement for referred females. (Author/DB)

One hundred kindergarten children completed a phoneme segmentation test, an invented spelling test, and two tests of visual-motor ability. Scores on both tests of phoneme awareness predicted between 30% and 40% of variance in reading ability a year later, while visual-motor scores bore a less substantial relationship to future reading ability.…

The concurrent validity of three types of reading ability assessments was evaluated with 312 Australian primary-level children. Results suggest that the nature of the skills required for success in reading changes in the primary years, and that both teacher-based and test-based assessments concur more closely as children progress through the…