EPSP 2500

EDUC PSYCH JNR PRIM 2

LECTURE 2
AUGUST 2015

THE IDENTIFICATION, ASSESSMENT,

AND INTERVENTION PROCESSES FOR
LEARNERS WITH SPECIAL
EDUCATIONAL NEEDS/ BARRIERS TO
LEARNING
 ASSESSMENT OF LEARNERS WITH
SPECIAL NEEDS:
WHAT NECESSITATES IT?
 Usually when a child displays problems with
academic, emotional, behavioral, or other school-
related problems in school

 When this happens, parents consult with the

teachers for assistance

 teachers may realize the problem and contact

parents – parents may seek help outside of school
 ASSESSMENT OF LEARNERS WITH
SPECIAL NEEDS:
WHAT NECESSITATES IT?
 Initially, teachers may meet with the parents
and try interventions before a referral for an
assessment (RTI?)

 If intervention does not work,

testing/assessment is then considered;

 referral could be made by the teacher, parent

could initiate the assessment
 ASSESSMENT OF LEARNERS WITH
SPECIAL NEEDS: WHAT DOES IT
INVOLVE?
 Assessment involves:
• review and analysis of educational records,
including educational history of child;

• also includes educational records from

child’s previous schools, if any

• information from records may provide

details that help examiners understand why
child is experiencing learning problems
 ASSESSMENT OF LEARNERS WITH
SPECIAL NEEDS: WHAT DOES IT
INVOLVE?
 records reviewed could include:

 Attendance records
 Previous support services (IEP), if any
 Educational performance history
 Standardized achievement test results
 Discipline and behavior records
 Student health records, etc.
 ASSESSMENT OF LEARNERS WITH
SPECIAL NEEDS: WHAT DOES IT
INVOLVE?
 Assessment of involves:
• observations:
o provide an opportunity to see how a child solves
problems
o to learn what factors may affect his/her ability to
learn, complete work,
o interact in a positive way with others
o to identify specific behaviors, to assess child’s
ability to perform specific tasks, to pinpoint
exactly where students make mistakes in their
work.
 ASSESSMENT OF LEARNERS WITH
SPECIAL NEEDS: WHAT DOES IT
INVOLVE?
 medical, vision, and hearing and audiological
information
 developmental and social history of child
 fine and gross motor evaluation
 adaptive behavior (to determine what
behavior strengths and weaknesses should be
addressed to improve the learner's possibility
for success in school and life)
 ASSESSMENT OF LEARNERS WITH
SPECIAL NEEDS: WHAT DOES IT
INVOLVE?
 Assessment involves:
• speech and language assessment
• intellectual ability (IQ tests)
• assessment of academic skills (reading,
expressive writing, spelling, math)
• social and emotional testing
• behavioral testing
• psychiatric testing (rarely)
 ASSESSMENT OF LEARNERS WITH
SPECIAL NEEDS: WHO CONDUCTS THE
ASSESSMENT?
 By a variety of professionals, depending on the
need:
• teachers
• educational psychologists
• speech pathologists (deal with speech-
related disorders; e.g. inability to produce
certain sounds, speech rhythm and fluency
problems, and voice disorders)
 ASSESSMENT OF LEARNERS WITH
SPECIAL NEEDS: WHO CONDUCTS THE
ASSESSMENT?
 By a variety of professionals, depending on the
need:
• medical professionals
• occupational therapists
• physical therapists
• counselors
 ASSESSMENT OF LEARNERS WITH
SPECIAL NEEDS:
 Tests and procedures used derive from the
classification model and constructs it specifies

 If model is based on the (score) discrepancy

model/aptitude-achievement discrepancy model,
primary instruments would be tests measuring
aptitude (IQ tests) and achievement tests of
reading , math, written language, etc.
 ASSESSMENT OF LEARNERS WITH
SPECIAL NEEDS:
 If classification model is based on RTI,
assessment would focus on the quality of
instruction, curriculum-based assessment
(CBM) to assess response to that instruction

 Classification based on intra-individual

differences would use cognitive
processing/neuropsychological measures
 ASSESSMENT OF LEARNERS WITH
SPECIAL NEEDS:
 If the classification model reflects a low
achievement model, achievement would be
measured; not aptitude

 Traditional model of assessment (test &

treatment):
• referral to eligibility testing for treatment
 ASSESSMENT OF LEARNERS WITH
SPECIAL NEEDS:
 PROPOSED MODEL OF ASSESSMENT :
• a hybrid model to focus on:
o RTI,
o standardized/norm-referenced assessment
of achievement, and
o assessment of contextual factors, and
o assessment of related conditions to help
explain the achievement problem
 ASSESSMENT OF LEARNERS WITH
SPECIAL NEEDS:
 Proposed model view:
• LDs, for example, not to be diagnosed on a
basis of psychometric testing administered once
(no reliable ID if based on cut-off scores)
• rather, LDs to be identified after attempts at
systematic instruction of child suspected of LDs

• adequate instruction to be a prerequisite to ID

of LDs;
• traditional test-treat approach to ID a child as
at-risk for LD after adequate instruction and
after RTI
 ASSESSMENT OF LEARNERS WITH
SPECIAL NEEDS:
 necessary to establish evidence for child’s low
achievement

 low achievement to justify intervention, not IQ

testing for diagnosis/ID of LDs, for example

 therefore, necessary for professionals who ID LDs

to understand educational interventions, have a
relationship with educational professionals who
provide intervention and RTI measurement (after
intervention)
 ASSESSMENT OF LEARNERS WITH
SPECIAL NEEDS:
 Assessment in grade school
• should be informal; children not to be
subjected to a ‘test situation’
• informal assessment/daily assessment
o process of collecting information about child’s
progress through observations, discussions,
practical demonstrations, and informal interactions
o allows teacher to make daily instructional
decisions, provide feedback to the child
o informs teacher’s planning
o leads to a comprehensive picture of child’s
progress (weaknesses and strength)
 ASSESSMENT OF LEARNERS WITH
SPECIAL NEEDS:
 formative assessment (informal assessment)
• assessment for learning
• collects information about child’s achievement
• teacher assesses child during daily teaching-
learning activities
• data collected on child’s achievement/progress
recorded for feedback (e.g. to parents,
guardians, caregivers, etc. for partnering with
teachers in assisting child to succeed)
• ongoing, takes place whenever a suitable
situation arises; involves continuous assessment
 ASSESSMENT OF LEARNERS WITH
SPECIAL NEEDS:
 continuous assessment
• takes place over a period of time, is continuous
• learning assessed regularly, records of
children’s progress updated throughout the
year
• provides information about effectiveness of
teaching and learning
• allows for flexibility that enables teacher to
meet children’s individual needs and learning
styles, and to take developmental pace into
account
• can also be used in summative assessment
 ASSESSMENT OF LEARNERS WITH
SPECIAL NEEDS:
 summative assessment
• usually implemented at the end of the term or
year
• more formal than formative assessment
• provides overall picture of child’s progress at a
given time
• tests and exams examples of summative
assessment
• not to be used in the early graded (Grade R)
because children refining skills and concepts
necessary for formal leanring
 ASSESSMENT OF LEARNERS WITH
SPECIAL NEEDS:
 Assessment of Reading Disabilities:
• Word Recognition
o assessed via standardized achievement tests
(e.g. WJ, WIAT) measuring the child’s
knowledge of sight words and his ability to
sound out words

o recognition of words assessed in increasing

difficulty
 ASSESSMENT OF LEARNERS WITH
SPECIAL NEEDS:
 Assessment of Reading Disabilities:
• Reading fluency
o reading speed assessed during silent
reading comprehension (WIAT)

o reading fluency assessed by having text

read orally to allow measurement of
fluency in terms of words read correctly per
minute
 ASSESSMENT OF LEARNERS WITH
SPECIAL NEEDS:
O Assessment of Reading Disabilities:
 Reading fluency
• tools used include:
o WIAT,
o WJ,
o Test of Word Reading Efficiency (oral
reading of real words and pseudowords on
a list); Test of Reading Fluency (requires
text reading)
 ASSESSMENT OF LEARNERS WITH
SPECIAL NEEDS:
O Assessment of Reading Disabilities:
 Reading Comprehension
• tests assessing reading comprehension tap
various skills/abilities:
o sentences, passages, genre (narrative,
expository),
o memory demands (answering questions
with and without text available),
o depth of abstraction of meaning (vocab
elaboration vs. knowledge, inferensing,
activation of prior knowledge)
 ASSESSMENT OF LEARNERS WITH
SPECIAL NEEDS:
O Assessment of Reading Disabilities:
 Written expression
• most difficult to assess because what makes up
written disorders is not well-established (is it
spelling, handwriting, composition?); however, ….
• alphabet writing
word fluency
Sentences: Combine and generate sentences
Paragraph: Produce a rough-draft paragraph
(Grades 3-6) or a persuasive essay (grades 7-16)
• spelling to be assessed because it represents the
primary source of difficulty for written expression
for many children, esp. those with word
recognition difficulties
 ASSESSMENT OF LEARNERS WITH
SPECIAL NEEDS:
O Assessment of Reading Disabilities:
 Written expression
• analysis of spelling errors to determine
whether problem is phonologically-based
or visually-based (visual form of
letters/orthography

• WIAT, WJ tools used

 ASSESSMENT OF LEARNERS WITH
SPECIAL NEEDS:
O Assessment of Learning Disabilities:
 Mathematics
• poor performance on
numerical/calculation tasks could be due
to:
o problems with fact retrieval and/or
o phonological memory if word recognition is
comparably lower
• if word recognition is significantly higher than
math performance problems may be due to
procedural knowledge
ASSESSMENT OF LEARNERS WITH
SPECIAL NEEDS:
• poor math performance could also be due
to attention difficulties, esp. in children
with ADHD

• math computation in paper-and-pencil

format to assess for manifestation of math
difficulty for children without reading
problems
 ASSESSMENT OF LEARNERS WITH
SPECIAL NEEDS:
O Assessment of Reading Disabilities:
 Contextual factors
• necessary to assess conditions that help
explain low achievement, necessary to plan
intervention

• teacher and parent rating scales of behavior

and academic achievement, child’s
developmental and social history to be
included (help ID possible comorbid
conditions; e.g. behavioral problems)
ASSESSMENT OF LEARNERS WITH
SPECIAL NEEDS:
• comorbid condition should also be ID’d and
treated to make intervention more effective or
else RTI will be poor

• treating comorbid condition (e.g. ADHD)

without treating the actual problem will
not result in automatic improved
achievement; thus, treat both
 ASSESSMENT OF LEARNERS WITH
SPECIAL NEEDS:
 What should assessment look like, then?
• must derive from, and link to, an
overarching classification of childhood
learning and behavioral difficulties as well as
other problems that lead to children having
special needs in education