Daily behavior report cards (DBRCs) have shown to be effective in addressing academic and behavioral challenges for a variety of students in past literature. The purpose of this literature review and analysis is to update and summarize findings on the use of DBRCs on academic and social behavior for students considered to have disruptive behaviors…

The reauthorization of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act of 2004 set in motion the movement away from the typical Referral/IQ Discrepancy Model of Exceptional Student Education identification toward the Response to Intervention (RtI) model for the identification of students with reading-related learning disabilities. This…

Teacher education programs typically provide pre-service teachers preparation in assessment and identification procedures used to identify students with learning disabilities. What may be missing from teacher preparation is the development of communication skills to thoughtfully and professionally teach children about their disabilities. This…

This article presents a review of the "Process Assessment of the Learner-Second Edition" (PAL-II), an individual or group-administered instrument designed to assess the cognitive processes involved in academic tasks in kindergarten through sixth grade. The instrument allows the examiner to identify reasons for underachievement and…

The purpose of this case study is to highlight the integral role that progress monitoring (PM) plays throughout any response to intervention (RTI) process. This example uses a three-level, responsiveness-to-intervention (RTI) method for identifying students with learning difficulties. Using a fictional third-grade classroom as the setting for…

The study involving 28 learning disabled (LD) elementary students developed and field-tested a microcomputer version of the Test of Written Spelling (TWS) to determine if examiner time and scoring errors could be reduced. Results supported the supposition that a computerized version of the TWS is advantageous for use with LD students. (SB)

Fifteen learning disabled students (six to nine years old) scored significantly higher on the PIAT spelling subtest than on a dictated spelling test using identical words. Either approach, however, (selection or supply) ranked subjects similarly. (Author/CL)

Factor analysis of scores on intelligence, achievement, language, and process assessment measures of 112 elementary learning disabled students revealed three severity subtypes. Results suggested that severity is more appropriately determined by adaptive behavior assessment than by discrepancy between ability and academic or processing performance.…

Discusses the need for change in assessment procedures for students with mild or moderate handicaps, and makes recommendations for change. Suggests that ongoing holistic assessment that interacts with instruction is a vehicle by which teachers can discover what their students really know and document their actual progress. (RS)

Three types of definitions of learning disabilities (LD) (ability-achievement discrepancy, low achievement, and scatter) were examined to determine the extent of common variance within 48 school-identified LD children and 96 nonLD children (all elementary students). Both samples had previously been administered a battery of psychoeducational…

A study involving 48 school-identified learning disabled (LD) and 96 nonLD elementary students investigated the numbers of students identified by three kinds of LD definitions: ability-achievement discrepancy, low achievement, and scatter. Relationships between each definition and actual school classification were also examined. Data from a…

The parents of 90 children (30 each of learning disabled, emotionally disturbed, and normal children five-14 years old) completed The Family Adaptability and Cohesion Evaluation Scales. Results provided partial support for the hypotheses on family interaction with implications for assessing and intervening in problems identified as learning…

Resource room students (N=68) in grades 1-7 of three rural and suburban Minnesota school districts participated in a study of time series data generated by a curriculum-based measurement system. A principal components factor analysis was performed to summarize relationships among the time-series properties and properties of the measurement system.…

The relationship among IQs of the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Revised (WISC-R), Test of Nonverbal Intelligence (TONI), and Quick Test (QT) were investigated using 51 students (grades 2-8) with suspected learning problems. The subjects scored significantly higher on the TONI than on the WISC-R Verbal and Full Scales. (Author/VW)