Practices in North Carolina for the Assessment and Identification of Learning Disabilities

One class I teach for undergraduates is SPE 3374: Assessment and Identification of Students with Learning Disabilities. In this course in the past, the students have been given multiple opportunities to practice giving a test that is commonly used in this county and that has a national reputation as a comprehensive achievement test. The focus was upon giving enough the test enough times to become fluent in its administration.

Last semester, I changed the format of the class to include experience with five different tests and exposure to several more. I checked with the director of exceptional children in Watauga County, and explored the test publishers' offerings to determine the tests that I considered important for the students to learn. The literature is devoid of any recommendations on tests to be used. The resulting list of assessment instrument taught in the class represented little more than my educated guess on what assessment instruments were useful, validated, and reliable.

To determine what the students would be expected to know as they moved into the schools, we conducted a survey of the 117 districts in the state of North Carolina. Two questionnaires were sent to each district-one to the special education director and one to the head school psychologist. We chose these persons and mailed two questionnaires to each district to maximize the opportunity to get returns from as large a number of districts as possible. The questionnaire consisted of a list of assessment instruments in several categories including cognitive functioning, reading, math, global achievement, spelling, etc. We also asked the respondents to list the title of the person who generally administered the tests. A space was included for any comments that the respondents wished to k=make about the tests or the process.

The analysis will consist of the frequency of the use of the tests, followed by an analysis of the reliability and validity of each test as listed in a source such as Boros Mental Measurement Handbook.

The results will be used to choose appropriate tests to teach in the assessment course for undergraduate special education majors. We also hope to present the results in a journal or conference.

For more information, contact Margaret G. Werts, Ph.D.

Appalachian State University

Department of Language, Reading, and Exceptionalities

124 Edwin Duncan Hall

Boone, NC 28608

828.262.6365

wertsmg@appstate.edu