Factors related to the assessment of learning disabled adolescents include their failure patterns, curriculum and social demands, and institutional factors. Assessment should focus on cognitive, affective, and institutional aspects. Informal assessment approaches can include interviews, observation, and trial teaching. (CL)

A multidimensional approach to assessment of children with learning difficulties is examined. The approach explores factors along five dimensions: (1) learner characteristics (motivation, social-emotional maturity, cognitive abilities and styles); (2) task-based contributors (match of tasks to maturational levels and to cognitive style); (3)…

A special educator reviews approaches for assessing the writing skills of learning disabled students (by both formal and informal methods), describes common problems, lists prerequisites (such as sufficient visual and motor memory), and suggests prewriting activities as well as ways to help specific writing weaknesses. (CL)

Described are informal assessment methods for evaluating children suspected of having a learning disability. (Author/DB)

The paper describes a "mini-assessment" designed to help teachers understand the nature and extent of students' learning problems. A distinction is made between children with reading problems due to neurological differences and those with problems due to emotional, educational, or cultural factors. The importance of identifying and referring the…

The informal arithmetic inventory, an informal diagnostic technique for use with elementary age students, indicates a child's specific weaknesses in arithmetic, such as inadequate concept development, poor computational skills, or inability to apply skills in a practical problem solving situation. (SBH)

This article reviews the varied components of written language, suggest informal means for written language assessment, and summarizes the cognitive and linguistic factors that influence varied aspects of writing performance. Two informal evaluation scales are presented that stress the interconnection between oral and written language processes.…

Techniques are proposed for informally assessing oral communication skills in learning disabled adolescents. A feedback sheet uses direct observation by the teacher while the self-rating scale uses an indirect form of observation by the student. Theoretical premises of the two measures are noted. The Communication Feedback Sheet is designed to…

In 1982, a survey of California community colleges was conducted to determine the formal and informal devices used to identify and assess learning disabled average (LDA) students; the characteristics, skills, and behaviors measured; the personnel who administered the assessment instruments; and the intake process and identification and assessment…

A single-page form for the informal assessment of the affective behavior of bilingual learning impaired students is presented. Space is provided for: (1) description of the behavior in relation to native country standards; (2) description of the behavior in relation to United States standards; (3) remediation strategies (behavioral objectives)…

The second in a series of manuals on adults with learning disabilities, the booklet covers assessment techniques. The nature of assessment as an ongoing process is stressed, and the role of observation (both systematic and nonsystematic) and interview data are discussed. A seven-step evaluation sequence is proposed, with the major goal of…

Presented for classroom teachers and parents is an overview of information on learning disabilities. Covered are the following topics (with subtopics in parenthesis): defining the problem (causes, incidence, characteristics); assessment (physical assessment, intellectual potential, academic achievement, channels of learning); and informal…

Oral paraphrase is presented as an informal and versatile strategy for assessing and enhancing listening comprehension in mainstreamed students with language/learning disabilities. Approaches to assessing the listening comprehension demands of individual classrooms and using various dimensions of paraphrasing to enhance language comprehension and…

This publication, the sixth of seven booklets intended for adult education teachers of students with learning disabilities, reviews assessment and remediation considerations in mathematics. Observation of math disabilities is discussed in terms of social and general academic environment, calculation activities, quantitative concepts, and applied…