Introduction: The learning media assessment (LMA) process is the mechanism professionals use to determine a student's optimal learning and reading media. Currently, no tool has been validated for the purpose of conducting the LMA process. Methods: A Delphi approach was used whereby a panel of identified experts in the LMA process went through…

This practice brief outlines a series of recommendations for improving the timely provision and use of high-quality braille -- both embossed and electronic -- and tactile graphics for state-mandated assessment. The primary target audience for these recommendations is State Education Agency (SEA) assessment leaders and others at the state-and…

Specialized assessments, including the learning media assessment (LMA), are essential in appropriately planning and implementing instruction for students with visual impairments (Holbrook et al., 2017; Lusk et al., 2013). The LMA, first introduced by Koenig and Holbrook in the early 1990s, was designed to be an "objective process of…

In order to accurately assess the English language proficiency of special populations of English learners, student assessment programs must maintain the comparability of standard and modified assessment formats, allowing for equivalent inferences to be made across student classifications. However, given the typically small size of special…

This article reports the results of data from 114 writing samples of 39 children who read braille and who were included in the Alphabetic Braille and Contracted Braille (ABC) Study between 2002 and 2005. Writing characteristics, miscues, and composition characteristics are analyzed, and two case studies are included. (Contains 1 box and 2 tables.)

English language learners (ELLs) with disabilities are required to participate in all state and district assessments similar to their peers without disabilities. This includes assessments used for the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) Title I accountability purposes for demonstrating proficiency in academic content, assessments used…

This study compared the spelling of 7 students with functional blindness who read Braille with that of 180 sighted students reading conventional print. Students were in grades 9-11 and attending regular high schools in Quebec. The students with blindness were significantly ahead of their sighted peers in usage and grammatical spelling. (Author/CR)

A study involving 147 Missouri school districts serving students with visual impairments found that 77% who were identified as print readers, Braille readers, or print and Braille readers were reading at or above grade level. Of the 127 who were Braille readers, 57 were reported to perform grade-level activities. (Contains 4 references.) (CR)

This article describes the first phase of a project to develop an empirically based scale to help multidisciplinary teams decide whether individual children need to start or continue braille instruction. Teachers and other practitioners (n=225) rated child characteristics on the extent to which they reflected the need for braille instruction, and…

This document updates "Accommodations: Assisting Students with Disabilities. A Guide for Educators," published by the Florida Department of Education (FDOE) in 2003. This document is written to assist school district personnel and parents when making decisions about the use of accommodations by students with disabilities in instructional…

The article presents a two-phase process for use by multidisciplinary teams making decisions on the reading medium for students with visual impairments. The first phase is a diagnostic teaching phase to guide initial decision making. The second phase, continued evaluation, leads to ongoing adjustment of the selected medium or media. (Author/DB)

Teachers from a residential school (n=30) and a public school district (n=13) that serve children with visual impairments read scenarios of children with various eye conditions and abilities, and chose a primary literacy medium for each child. The teachers differed in their attitudes toward the use of braille. (Author/CR)

The reading process and the history of teaching reading to Braille, print, and aural readers are reviewed. Variables in effective reading instruction programs for visually impaired children include teaching methods, assessment methods, qualities and competencies of teachers, other deficits of visually impaired students that exacerbate reading…

This literature review examines and integrates research addressing visual handicap and giftedness and provides suggestions for the identification and education of gifted students with visual handicaps. The review addresses definitions of visual handicap and giftedness, characteristics of the gifted visually handicapped child, the problem of…