The first purpose of this study was to examine the prevalence of risk for comorbid reading and mathematics disabilities (RMD) at start of first grade, when measured in a representative sample of 3,062 students with first-grade fluency measures (word reading; computation). The second purpose was to examine the utility of these measures for…

Experts widely consider decoding and fluency as the basis of reading comprehension, while at the same time consistently documenting problems in these areas as major characteristics of students with learning disabilities. However, scholars have developed most of the relevant research within phonologically deep languages, wherein decoding problems…

RTI as a framework for decision making has implications for the diagnosis of specific learning disabilities. Any diagnostic tool must meet certain standards to demonstrate that its use leads to predictable decisions with minimal risk. Classification agreement analyses are described as optimal for demonstrating the technical adequacy of RTI…

Understanding the precursors and early indicators of dyslexia is key to early identification and effective intervention. Now there's a single research volume that brings together the very latest knowledge on the earliest stages of dyslexia and the diverse genetic, neurobiological, and cognitive factors that may contribute to it. Based on findings…

Research is showing that the incidence of minor physical abnormalities correlates with learning and behavioral problems in children. J. Rappoport and associates at Georgetown University have developed a scale to count such physical abnormalitites as the epicanthus fold, placement of ears, curve of little finger, length of toes, or lack of…

Teacher perception, test batteries, and single instruments are presented as the major types of procedures for predicting which preschool children are at risk for experiencing school problems. (SBH)

The responses on the Slingerland Screening Tests for identifying children with specific learning disabilities of 29 learning disabled and 11 nondisabled children in Grade 1 distinguished the two groups, except for copying (near vision). Copying (far vision) and auditory, visual, and kinesthetic perception and discrimination together were the…

Study results suggest that a practicable combination of screening instruments can identify those children with a learning disability. The syllabication test and the teacher rating scale can be used with an 80 percent effectiveness level. (Author/CJ)

The English Picture Vocabulary Test and the Croydon Checklist (for teachers) were used for screening along with a standardized reading test to measure the predictive validity of the screening instruments. Results indicated that a number of children were misclassified and reasons for this, such as teachers' misconceptions, are discussed. (PHR)

Presented is a letter regarding the final report of a project involving the followup of 151 children (under 6 years old at the time of the initial assessment) to establish the accuracy of the Denver Developmental Screening Test in predicting school achievement problems. Reviewed are the procedures used in selecting the study population, and…

Investigated the best short form of the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (Revised) in a comparison of 234 learning disabled students and 290 referred but ineligible children. Results suggested that Sattler's (1982) tetrad is a good predictor of Full Scale Intelligence for learning disabled students. (JAC)

The validity of the Myklebust Pupil Rating Scale (PRS) in predicting learning disability was investigated in a two-year follow-up study of 55 preschool children. Correlational analysis yielded highly significant results with all correlations between the PRS scores and criterion measures. (SBH)

The Kaufman Brief Intelligence Test (K-BIT) was used as a screening instrument to predict Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Third Edition (WISC-III) scores of 94 students referred for psychoeducational evaluations. Although the correlation coefficient between the K-BIT IQ Composite and the WISC-III Full Scale IQ was 0.771 for the entire…