The document contains a review of the literature on screening for learning disabilities; a report of a Macomb, Illinois, study testing the Myklebust Learning Quotient method of identifying learning disabilities; and guidelines for learning disability eligibility screening in the Macomb schools. In the introduction, characteristics of the learning…

Because the results of one study concluded that 23% of the male participants and 11.5% of the female participants in the federally funded Job Corps program demonstrated a genuine learning disability (LD), an identification and intervention program was initiated in one Center during 1980. Identification procedures included the Job Corps screening…

The paper describes Florida's SEARCH and TEACH program designed to prevent learning disabilities and their emotional consequences in children. SEARCH, a scanning test to identify kindergarten children at risk for problems with academic learning, is based upon the importance of age appropriate functions of spatial orientation and temporal…

The study documented the existence of specific learning disabilities among primary school children in Botswana and compared the relative effectiveness of a behavior rating scale, a group test of visual-motor integration, and teacher identification in identifying such children. (DB)

The validity of using an analysis of patterns of performance on the Meeting Street School Screening test versus using the composite cutoff score for identification of learning disabilities was analyzed for 1,377 first graders. Use of subtest scatter predicted later learning disability placements less accurately than chance. (Author/DB)

Discusses various problems in preschool screening for learning disabilities. Reviews studies which show that, in spite of such problems, early identification of learning disabilities is a viable process. Examines advances in reading theory and research which point to new variables that may enhance the predictive power of early screening devices…

Difficulties in identifying learning disabilities (LD) are examined, and special problems presented by hearing impaired children with LD are considered. The value of rating scales as a quick instrument for obtaining, measuring, recording and communicating information is emphasized. Adaptations of the Pupil Rating Scale for hearing impaired…

Reanalysis of data derived from a meta-analysis of the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Revised, using a learning disability index derived from a principal-components analysis, found that the test discriminated reliably between 9,372 learning-disabled children and their non-disabled peers. (Author/CB)

This research focuses on problems involved in identifying children who are both gifted and learning disabled (GLD). The state of the art is demonstrated by surveying procedures in use in Texas by special education and gifted programs. Results yield characteristics of GLD children that are consistent with observations in the literature. (Author/PB)

The study evaluated the effectiveness of an adaptation of the Behavior Rating Scale (BRS), a child observation form, as a screening device for identifying learning disabled children in the primary schools of Botswana. Children (N=620) in two different primary school grades (standards 5 and 7) and two different types of schools (Setswana Medium and…

A statewide random sampling of seven groups of professional educators (N=90) and 30 parents of learning disabled (LD) students were compared for their degree of agreement on the Modified Component Disability Instrument. Professionals included teachers of LD adolescents, remedial reading teachers, school psychologists, speech clinicians, school…

Learning disabled, emotionally disturbed, and unclassified male students originally tested with the Elizur Test of Psycho-Organicity (ETPO) when they were 6 to 11 years of age (time 1), were reassessed four years later (time 2) with the same instrument. Examinees were required to duplicate geometric and colored block designs, and to memorize five…

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…

Comparison of language test performance of 26 learning disabled and 26 non-learning disabled Black elementary-aged children is discussed in terms of (1) relative performance of the two groups, (2) the most useful assessment measures for this population, and (3) effects of socioeconomic factors on language test performance. (Author/DB)

The Personality Inventory for Children (PIC) is an objectively scored, multidimensional measure of child and adolescent behavior, affect, and cognitive ability and can be completed by parents. The overall goal of this project was to evaluate the psychometric characteristics of the PIC as a screening device for use with preschool populations. The…