ch.2+additional+resources

. Chapter 2

Assessment

learning Objectives

1. Describe how assessment and teaching constitute an interrelated process.

2. Describe the uses of assessment.

3. Describe the effects of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) on the assessment process.

4. Know the procedural safeguards and parents’ rights that protect the rights of students with disabilities.

5. Know the six stages of the assessment/teaching process.

6. Identify and give an example of five methods of obtaining assessment information.

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: auto;">7. Know the procedures for determining the eligibility of students with learning disabilities.

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: auto;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: auto;">8. Compare standardized norm-referenced tests and informal measures.

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: auto;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: auto;">9. Describe the implications of high standards and accountability for students with learning disabilities.

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: auto;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: auto;">10. Describe students who are English Language Learners (ELL).

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: auto;">__Key Terms and Definitions__

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: auto;">Students should take note of the following terms as they appear in this chapter. Students who have difficulty should refer to the glossary in Appendix E of the text or to the text page on which the term is discussed.

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: auto;">accommodations for assessment<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: auto;"> Specific procedures written into the IEP to make modifications in testing for students with disabilities.

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: auto;">annual goals<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: auto;"> General estimates of what the student will achieve in one year. These goals should represent the most essential needs of the student. Annual goals are part of the written individualized education program.

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: auto;">assistive technology<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: auto;"> Any technology that enables an individual with a disability to compensate for specific deficits.

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: auto;">case history<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: auto;"> A compilation of the student’s background, development, and other information. Case history information is usually obtained from parents and the student’s school and medical histories. Often this information is obtained by interview.

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: auto;">criterion-referenced tests<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: auto;"> Tests that measure abilities in specific tasks (rather than tests that compare a student to others in a norm group).

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: auto;">curriculum-based measurement (CBM)<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: auto;"> Assessment designed to measure student performance on the student’s curriculum activities and materials. The student’s performance on an academic task is repeatedly measured and charted to assess changes in learning performance.

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: auto;">discrepancy between achievement and intellectual ability<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: auto;"> The student’s achievement is compared to the student’s intellectual ability. A significant difference between these two scores indicates a learning disability.

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: auto;">dynamic assessment<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: auto;"> Evaluation of a student by noting how that student performs during instruction in an interactive teaching environment.

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: auto;">English language learners (ELL)<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: auto;"> Students who speak a language other than English have a limited proficiency with English.

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: auto;">formal standardized tests<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: auto;"> Commercially prepared tests that have been used with and standardized on large groups of students. Manuals that accompany the tests provide derived scores on student performance, such as grade scores, age scores, percentiles, and standard scores.

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: auto;">functional behavioral assessment<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: auto;"> Assessment that focuses on identifying the target behavior, developing a hypothesis about what conditions provoke the problem behavior, and determining what seems to maintain the occurrence of the behavior.

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: auto;">individualized education program (IEP)<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: auto;"> A written statement for each child with a disability that is developed, reviewed, and revised in accordance with the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act of 2004.

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: auto;">informal assessment measures<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: auto;"> Ways of evaluating performance that are not formal standardized tests. These can include teacher-made tests, diagnostic teaching, commercial nonstandardized tests, curriculum-based assessment, and so on.

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: auto;">mediation<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: auto;"> A process of resolving disputes between the parent(s) and the school in a nonadversarial fashion.

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: auto;">multidisciplinary evaluation<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: auto;"> The assessment process in which specialists from several disciplines evaluate a child and coordinate their findings.

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: auto;">norm-referenced tests<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: auto;"> Standardized tests that compare a child’s performance to that of other children of the same age.

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: auto;">observation<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: auto;"> Careful watching of a student’s behavior, usually in the classroom setting.

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: auto;">parents’ rights <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: auto;">The procedural safeguards that protect certain rights for parents.

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: auto;">portfolio assessment<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: auto;"> A method of evaluating student progress by analyzing samples of the student’s classroom work.

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: auto;">prereferral activities<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: auto;"> Preventive procedures taken prior to referral for special education evaluation and intended to help regular teachers work more successfully with the child in the general education classroom.

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: auto;">present levels of educational achievement<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: auto;"> The levels at which the student is currently achieving in various developmental and academic areas. The written individualized education program must include a statement of the child’s present levels of educational performance.

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: auto;">procedural safeguards<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: auto;"> Regulations in federal law that are designed to protect the rights of students with learning disabilities and their families.

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: auto;">progress monitoring <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: auto;">Assessment procedures to measure the student’s academic performance and evaluate the effectiveness of instruction.

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: auto;">rating scales<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: auto;"> A ranking of student behavior as judged by a parent, teacher, or other informant.

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: auto;">referral<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: auto;"> The initial request to consider a student for a special education evaluation.

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: auto;">response-to-intervention<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: auto;">A prereferral activity in which students at-risk for academic failure are taught using scientifically-based instruction materials.

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: auto;">major points

=<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 32px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: auto;">Special Section: Quantifying the ability-achievement discrepancy score to identify students with learning disabilities =

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: auto;">An important decision of the assessment process is whether the student under consideration has learning disabilities and will be eligible for learning disabilities services. This decision is the responsibility of the IEP team, and it should take into account both quantitative and qualitative factors. One method of establishing eligibility for learning disabilities is to use an ability-achievement discrepancy score, a mathematical calculation for quantifying the discrepancy between the student’s ability to learn and his or her actual achievement.

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: auto;">Many parents and teachers are concerned about the use of formulas for making decisions about their children, maintaining that there is no substitute for clinical experience and judgment. Decisions about eligibility should not be made solely on the basis of a discrepancy formula. Many human and clinical factors, such as observation, informal measurements, and the experience of parents and teachers are important and should be taken into account.

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: auto;">Several methods of quantifying a learning disability are described below:

==<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 24px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: auto;">Methods for Quantifying the Ability-Achievement Discrepancy Score ==

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 18px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: auto;">Deviation from Grade Level
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: auto;">This method identifies students with learning disabilities by identifying students with achievement scores that are significantly below their cur­rent grade placement. Schools can set guidelines to determine the amount of deviation from grade level needed for learning disabilities eligibility. The following guidelines illustrate the deviation from grade level method (Richek, Jennings, Caldwell, & Lerner, 2002).

===<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 18px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: auto;">Deviation from Grade Level Eligibility Criteria ===

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: auto;">Primary grades: more than 1.0 year below current grade level

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: auto;">Intermediate grades: more than 1.5 years below current grade level

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: auto;">Junior high school: more than 2.0 years below current grade level

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: auto;">Senior high school: more than 2.5 years below current grade level

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: auto;">The deviation from grade level method is easy to administer, but <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: auto;">it has statistical shortcomings. The method discriminates against students with higher IQ scores who should be performing above grade level: Since they are actually at grade level, they will not receive services. The method also tends to identify low achievers rather than students with learning disabil­ities (Cone & Wilson, 1981).

===<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 18px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: auto;">Ability-Achievement Discrepancy Based on Age or Grade Score ===

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: auto;">These methods for obtaining the discrepancy score are frequently used and are based on the discrepancy between ability to learn and achievement when both are converted to either age-level scores or grade-level scores. A statistical shortcoming is that these scores do not take into account the tests’ error of measurement, nor do they have a comparability of norms across tests: That is, the grade-level or age-level scores on one test are not comparable to those on another test (Cone & Wilson, 1981).

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: auto;">Two different methods are described here:

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: auto;">(a) the mental grade method

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: auto;">(b) the years-in-school method

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 24px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: auto;">Mental Grade Method
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: auto;">This is the simplest method. It uses the student’s mental age to assess reading expectancy (Harris, 1964). To determine the reading expectancy grade (RE), the examiner subtracts five years from the student’s mental age (MA):

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: auto;">**<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: auto;">RE ****<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: auto;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: auto;">= MA ****<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: auto;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: auto;">– 5 **

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: auto;">Thus, a child with an MA of 13 would be expected to read as well as the average 13-year-old or average eighth-grade student. An MA of 7 suggests a reading expectancy of the average 7-year-old, or second-grade student.

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: auto;">The expected reading level and the student’s present reading level are compared to determine whether a discrepancy exists. For example, Tony, who is 10 years, zero months old, has an IQ score of 120. Using the mental grade method, his reading expectancy grade is 7.0. If he reads at the 4.0 grade level, he has a three-year discrepancy in reading.

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: auto;">**<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: auto;">7.0 (RE) ****<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: auto;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: auto;">= 12 (MA) ****<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: auto;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: auto;">– 5 **

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 24px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: auto;">Years-in-School Method
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: auto;">This method (Bond, Tinker, Wasson, & Wasson, 1984) suggests that the mental grade method does not take into ac­count the years of school exposure and therefore gives an inaccurate expectancy in some cases, especially when the IQ score is particularly high or particularly low. In the first case, it would overestimate ex­pectancy, and in the second it would underestimate it. These authors cal­culate the expectancy grade with the following formula:

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: auto;">**<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: auto;"> RE = Years in school x IQ score + 1.0 **

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: auto;">**<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: auto;"> 100 **

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: auto;">Ten-year-old Tony is in the middle of the fifth grade and therefore has been in school for 4.5 years. Using this formula with his IQ score of 120, his reading expectancy grade is 6.4.

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: auto;">**<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: auto;"> RE = 4.5 x 120 + 1.0 = 6.4 **

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: auto;">**<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: auto;">100 **

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: auto;">If Tony reads at the 4.0 grade level, the discrepancy between his ex­pectancy and achievement levels is 2.4 years.

===<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 18px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: auto;">Ability-Achievement Discrepancy Based on Standard Score Comparisons ===

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: auto;">The standard score comparison is one of the most popular methods for determining ability-achievement discrepancy. This method avoids some of the statistical problems inherent in comparing age and grade scores. All scores are con­verted to standard scores that are based on the same mean and standard deviation. The standard score on a mental ability (such as an IQ test) can then be readily compared with the standard score on an achievement test. In judging discrepancy, if the difference between the obtained standard scores is greater than one or two standard errors of difference, then the student is viewed as eligible for learning disabilities services. Although the standard score comparison method meets many of the statistical requirements, <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: auto;">it does not take into account certain statistical properties known as regression toward the mean (Reynolds, 1985; Cone & Wilson, 1981).

==<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 24px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: auto;">Potential-Achievement Discrepancy Based on Regression Analysis ==

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: auto;">Regression analysis is a statistical procedure to measure discrepancy that is favored by many measurement experts. The regression equation pro­vides a statistically determined expected achievement range for a specific IQ score. It indicates whether a student’s achievement scores are in the range of what would reasonably be considered normal limits for the stu­dent’s IQ score. This method adjusts for the phenomenon of regression toward the mean, a statistical tendency for scores that are especially high or low to move toward the mean when measured a second time (Reynolds, 1985//<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: auto;">; //Cone & Wilson, 1981).

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: auto;">However, the regression analysis method is also criticized. Many of the tests used in learning disabilities assessment fail to meet acceptable psychometric standards (Salvia & Ysseldyke, 2001). Regression analysis is a precise, sophisticated technique that is being used on tests that are rather gross measures of behavior.

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 24px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: auto;">Learning Quotient Method
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: auto;">This method measures the discrep­ancy between achievement and IQ and is called the learning quotient method. This method takes three factors into consideration: mental age (MA), chrono­logical age (CA), and grade age (GA) (Myklebust, 1968). Since each fac­tor contains certain errors, an average of the three, called expectancy age (EA) tends to minimize error.

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: auto;">**<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: auto;">EA (expectancy age) ****<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: auto;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: auto;">= MA + CA + GA **

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: auto;">**<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: auto;"> 3 **

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: auto;">The child’s learning quotient (LQ) indicates the student’s percentage of what the student is capable of learning. The learning quotient (LQ) is the ratio between the present achievement (AA) and the expectancy age (EA).

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: auto;">The child’s learning quotient (LQ) indicates the percentage of what the student is capable of learning. The learning quotient (LQ) is the ratio between the student’s achievement (AA) and the student’s expectancy age (EA).

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: auto;">The school can designate a target LQ (learning quotient) score for eli­gibility for learning disabilities service; for example, an LQ score of 89 or less. This means that the child is learning less than 90 percent of what he or she is capable of learning.

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 24px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: auto;">References
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: auto;">Bond, G., Tinker, M., Wasson, B., & Wasson, J. (1984). //<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: auto;">Reading difficulties: Their diagnosis and correction //. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall.

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: auto;">Cone, T., & Wilson, L. (1981). Quantifying a severe disability: A critical analysis. //<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: auto;">Learning Disability Quarterly, 4, // 359–372.

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: auto;">Harris, A. (1964). //<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: auto;">How to improve reading ability //. New York: David McKay.

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: auto;">Myklebust, H., & Boshes, B. (1969). Minimal brain damage in children. (Final Report, U.S. Public Health Service. Contract 108-65-142). Evanston, IL: Northwestern University Publication.

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: auto;">Reynolds, C. (1985). Critical measurement issues in learning disabilities. //<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: auto;">Journal of Special Education, 18, // 451–475.

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: auto;">Richek, M., Jennings, J., Caldwell, J., & Lerner, J. (2002<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: auto;">). //<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: auto;">Reading problems: Assessment and reading strategies //. Boston: Allyn & Bacon.

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: auto;">Salvia, J., & Ysseldyke, J. (2001). //<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: auto;">Assessment //. Boston: Houghton Mifflin.

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