Two groups (learning disabled and normal) of 15 children were administered the Luria-Nebraska Neuropsychological Battery-Children's Revision and the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Revised. Considering abnormal or borderline profiles as indicative of learning disability was 93.3 percent accurate in discriminating between groups.…

Examines the predictive validity of a screening test for children with mild learning problems. Scores on a cognitive battery were evaluated in terms of the accuracy with which they predicted the classification of children into regular or special education. A classification accuracy level of 79% was achieved for the exceptional children, and 70%…

The edumetric adequacy of curriculum-based reading measures were examined for two basal reading programs. On the basis of reading aloud performance, 91 elementary students were assigned seven instructional placement scores within each basal series. Students also were measured on standardized reading achievement tests. Generally, correlations…

Evaluation of a checklist by teachers to rate 60 secondary level learning-disabled and nondisabled students for mainstream competencies found no overall mean group differences and no inter-rater reliability, though ratings on work habits did predict course grades for all three groups (fully mainstreamed, partially mainstreamed, and nondisabled).…

Two measures used for early detection of learning problems (Preschool Screening System and Denver Articulation Screening Exam) were tested for their predictive validity. Educational placement at the end of grade one was examined and compared to pre-kindergarten test scores on the two measures. Analysis found both measures to be valid. (Author/MSE)

The power of the Slingerland Screening Tests was examined, and a discrepant performance index was developed between cognitive measures to predict early school achievement and class placement for children at risk for specific language disabilities. Subjects were two successive cohorts of entering kindergarten children for whom Slingerland Tests…

Local teachers and other school personnel in Hawaii expressed a need for operational guidelines to use in deciding whether or not to refer students for diagnostic evaluations for specific learning disabilities (SLD). This project was designed to evaluate whether the Windward Rating Scale (WRS), a locally-developed teacher rating scale of student…

Screening refers here to the process of making an initial selection of those who need further diagnostic evaluations. A screening process which effectively selects true learning disability (LD) cases from a population reduces the number of incorrectly selected non-LD children who would be needlessly given costly psychoeducational evaluations.…

The performance of 566 elementary students enrolled in grades 1-6 from Minnesota, Pennsylvania, and Washington, on direct measures of reading, spelling, and written expression was analyzed to determine the rate of students who would be eligible for special education services by each of four discrepancy criteria. Measures were individually…

A study examined teachers' and parents' ratings of 39 developmentally handicapped (DH) and 9 learning disabled children on the revised Vineland and the AAMD Adaptive Behavior Scale. Teachers rated children eligible for DH placement more frequently than parents. The adaptive behavior ratings of the two instruments differed significantly. (Author/CB)

The position that intelligence and achievement are essentially different measures of the same construct has often been referred to as a "jangle fallacy." Such a position challenges the present practice of placing children in learning disabilities programs based on a discrepancy between Intelligence Quotient (IQ) and achievement. This…

In 1992, a study was conducted to determine whether student placement rates into college-level courses varied across subgroups of students at Golden West College (GWC), and, if so, the extent to which this disproportionate impact (DI) occurred. The standard of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) for employee selection holds that DI…

This normative study of the American Association on Mental Deficiency (AAMD) Adaptive Behavior Scale--Public School Version was based on 291 Texas public school children divided into 12 categories. The categories were: age, ethnic, or racial group (white or non-white), and assignment to regular classes or special education classes for the educable…

The use of the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children, Third Edition (WISC-III) and its interpretation in educational use are discussed. To measure intelligence, Wechsler believed one must measure the various aptitudes that contribute to the total behavior of the individual. The WISC-III has six verbal subtests and seven performance subtests.…