Although intelligence tests are among the most widely used psychological instruments in school psychology, at the current time, little is known about how practitioners interpret them. The primary purpose of this study, therefore, was to determine how intelligence tests are interpreted by school psychologists, particularly for the identification of…

Currently 15 percent of U.S. students receive special education services, a widespread intensive intervention with variable effects on students. Spurred by changes in federal policy, many states and districts have begun adopting the Response to Intervention (RTI) approach to identifying students to receive special education services. RTI seeks to…

The aim of this study was to examine whether the use of a response-to-intervention (RTI) model to identify specific learning disability (SLD) over-identifies children and youth with population-relative (normative) weaknesses in general cognitive ability (IQs < 90). We compared the overall score on the Kaufman Brief Intelligence Test-Second…

A recent, widely publicized scandal involved students who obtained fraudulent diagnoses of learning disabilities in an effort to get accommodations on college admissions tests. Although the exact circumstances of the scandal are unusual, the methods used to obtain diagnoses and accommodations illustrate widespread problems with current policies.…

Purpose: The ability to identify children early in development who are at substantial risk for language/literacy difficulties would have great benefit both for the children and for the educational and therapeutic institutions that serve them. Information that is relatively easily available prior to the age of 3 years, such as late talking, family…

The Ability Achievement Discrepancy model remains the primary identification method used by school personnel. This study examined identification of a specific learning disability using the Ability Achievement Discrepancy model with the Woodcock-Johnson IV (WJ-IV). Two different test scores can be used to represent the ability construct: one that…

Within the Canadian context, the two major learning disability classification systems are arguably the American Psychiatric Association's (APA) "Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders" and the Learning Disabilities Association (LDAC) of Canada's "Official Definition of Learning Disabilities." Several of the more…

Response to intervention (RTI) has been promoted for nearly 20 years as a valid supplement to or alternative method of learning disability (LD) identification. Nevertheless, important unresolved questions remain about its role in disability identification. We had two purposes when conducting this study of 229 economically and racially diverse poor…

Specific learning disabilities (SLD) identification has consistently been shown to be problematic; however, research has largely focused on SLD identification using test scores only. The present study, therefore, examined SLD identification decisions across identification methods and student evaluation data levels, including test scores,…

Traditionally, students with learning disabilities (LD) have been identified using an aptitude--achievement discrepancy or response to intervention approach. As profiles of the cognitive deficits of discrepancy-defined students with LD have already been developed using these approaches, these deficits can in turn be used to identify LD using the…

A relationship between motor and mathematical skills has been shown by previous research. However, the question of whether subtypes can be differentiated within developmental coordination disorder (DCD) and/or mathematical learning disability (MLD) remains unresolved. In a sample of children with and without DCD and/or MLD, a data-driven…

The "Woodcock-Johnson III" Tests of Achievement grade norms versus age norms were examined in the calculation of discrepancy scores in 202 college students. Difference scores were calculated between the "Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-3rd Edition" Full Scale IQ and the "Woodcock-Johnson III" Total Achievement,…

As public schools, charter schools are legally required to educate all students regardless of the difficulties they bring with them into the classroom. Nonetheless, many are concerned that the charter sector fails to educate all comers. Charter schools are often criticized for not enrolling similar proportions of students with disabilities as are…

Much has been written about gifted students with learning disabilities, but there have been few large-scale empirical investigations, and the concept has proven controversial. The authors reviewed the available empirical literature on these students, focusing on (a) the criteria by which the students were identified and (b) the students'…

The concept of moderate learning difficulties (MLD) is not clearly understood in its definition and in its general use. Nevertheless, as a distinct area of special educational needs (SEN) this category has constituted about a quarter of all of those pupils identified as having SEN in England. This paper reports the analysis of findings from an…