In 2005, to address concerns about students who might fall in the "gap" between the regular assessment and the alternate assessment based on alternate achievement standards (AA-AAS), the U.S. Department of Education announced that states could develop alternate assessments based on modified achievement standards (AA-MAS). This article…

Four groups of educational decisionmakers rated the influence of information regarding the sex, socioeconomic status, and physical attractiveness of the student as having an insignificant effect on educational placement decisions. Assessment data were believed to have a greater influence, with achievement and intelligence scores seen as having a…

Two studies were conducted to examine the extent to which the category "learning disabilities" (LD) meets the major criterion for classification systems, specifically that the category demonstrates at least one universal and one specific characteristic. Analyses were conducted on psychometric data for 248 students in regular 3rd, 5th,…

The paper considers problems in current assessment and evaluation practices with learning disabled students and discusses forces for change. Among the weaknesses noted are inadequate conceptual and definitional frameworks, practitioner bias, and technical inadequacies of currently used norm referenced tests. The authors outline three factors…

In response to Hallahan et al, the authors suggest that variability in prevalence is a function of the methods used to examine prevalence differences and that the effect specific discrepancy criteria for learning disabilities have on the number of students identified is the critical issue. (Author/DB)

The Minnesota Institute studied the assessment of LD (learning disability) children, including such topics as characteristics of referred children and of those found eligible for special education placement, methods of planning instructional interventions, evaluations of the extent to which children profited from instruction, and of effectiveness…

The individual assessment and decision making procedure in cases of handicapped children of 12 individuals were surveyed and described in detail. Four school psychologists, four special educators, and four regular educators were selected randomly from those who had participated in a computer simulated assessment and decision making exercise. The…

The article looks at the concept of discrepancy between ability and achievement in conceptualizations of learning disabilities. Comparison of ability and achievement scores found generally small average discrepancies, though some wide ranges were evident. Implications of the findings for current and future use of discrepancies as estimators of…

Educational decision makers (N=224) participated in a computer simulated decison making experience designed to ascertain the extent to which referral information biased classification decisions. Ss ignored standardized test information indicative of average performance and retained the stereotype created by the referral information. (Author)

A survey of 141 elementary and 79 secondary teachers of students with mild handicaps found that the average student-teacher ratio was 4.7:1, with a range of 1:1 to 15:1. Minor differences were found as a function of the students' categorical designations and elementary versus secondary level. (Author/JDD)

The report summarizes research conducted by the Institute for Research on Learning Disabilities (IRLD) on issues in assessment and identification of learning disabled (LD) students. The initial chapter highlights major findings from IRLD research studies on five topics: (1) the nature of the identification/classification process, (2)…

Six years of studies on assessment and identification issues for learning disabled (LD) students are summarized, and implications for instructional intervention are noted. In chapter 1, findings on four topics are highlighted (sample findings in parentheses); instruction prior to referral (only about one-half of the school day is instructional…

A nationwide sample of 49 school psychologists and 30 regular education teachers provided information on assessment for the purpose of instructional planning. School psychologists listed the types of information they collected for this purpose and teachers listed the types of information they considered useful. While some indications of agreement…

The authors suggest that the confusion and controversy over definitions of learning disabilities have been unproductive. They review findings on the assessment decision making process and emphasize the need for a new perspective on assessment and intervention. (CL)

The article focuses on the provisions of Public Law 94-142 (the Education for All Handicapped Children Act) which involve nondiscriminatory assessment procedures. The author proposes the use of nondiscriminatory decision-making processes using data obtained from intervention effectiveness statistics rather than norm referenced tests. (PHR)