From Reading & Other Learning Disabilities
A Blog by Dr. Gary G. Brannigan and Dr. Howard Margolis
On Saturday, The Columbus Dispatch (Ohio) reported:
The Upper Arlington school district failed several dyslexic students, and broke federal education laws, because it refused to test children for disabilities and help them learn to read, a state investigation found. District officials, however, deny the state’s findings.
…. According to the complaint, officials refused to acknowledge that students had dyslexia and put them in remedial reading classes that weren’t designed for those with the reading disability. Read more...
due process, Dyslexia, dyslexic, dyslexics, evaluation, evaluations, IDEIA, IEP, IEPs, Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act of 2004 (IDEA), Learning Disabilities, learning disability, Reading Disabilities, reading disability, reading problem, reading problems, special education eligibility, struggling reader, Struggling Readers
From Reading & Other Learning Disabilities
A Blog by Dr. Gary G. Brannigan and Dr. Howard Margolis
Finally, The Perfect Reading Test!!!!!
Is it perfect?
No.
No test is perfect, and test scores, without proper interpretation and without corroborating information, can damage children. Inaccurate scores can easily lead to a reading program, a class placement, or an Individualized Education Program (IEP) that backfires.
To better understand test scores and help ensure that your child’s reading program is effective, read and save these quotes from a test manual I reviewed for the University of Nebraska’s Seventeenth Mental Measurements Yearbook. Read more...
Advocacy, Assessment, Dyslexia, dyslexic, dyslexics, evaluation, evaluations, IEP, IEPs, Learning Disabilities, learning disability, Parenting, reading assessment, Reading Disabilities, reading disability, reading evaluation, reading problem, reading problems, reading test, reading test scores, struggling reader, Struggling Readers, test score, test scores, testing, tests
From Reading & Other Learning Disabilities
A Blog by Dr. Gary G. Brannigan and Dr. Howard Margolis
Despite the legal requirement that each child in special education have an Individualized Educational Program (IEP) with a Present Levels section (“present levels of academic achievement and functional performance”) that’s complete, up-to-date, and sufficient to develop meaningful and measurable goals (and in some cases, objectives), parents often complain that the school members of the IEP Team refuse to create such a Present Levels section. They complain that school members rush through the section or stonewall them by refusing to provide information that’s current, valid, and functional. All they get are standardized test scores from achievement test batteries like the Wechsler Individual Achievement Test or the Woodcock Johnson Psychoeducational Battery. (Such scores are insufficient to develop quality goals and objectives.) Read more...
Advocacy, Dyslexia, dyslexic, dyslexics, evaluations, frustration, frustration level, IEP, Individualized Educational Program, intervention, Learning Disabilities, learning disability, Present Levels, present levels of academic achievement and functional performance, Reading Disabilities, reading disability, reading intervention, reading levels, reading problem, reading problems, reading remediation, remedial reading, remediation, struggling reader, Struggling Readers
From Reading & Other Learning Disabilities
A Blog by Dr. Gary G. Brannigan and Dr. Howard Margolis
Last week, we discussed five evaluation and IEP traps that often harm children with reading disabilities. Today, we’ll discuss five more.
Agree or Disagree: It’s fair to ask a school to measure a child’s progress once or twice a year, but asking a school to objectively measure progress weekly is simply asking too much. It’s “overkill.” Read more...
Advocacy, Dyslexia, dyslexic, dyslexics, evaluation, evaluations, IDEA, IDEIA, IEP, IEPs, Individualized Education Program, Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act, Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act of 2004, intervention, Learning Disabilities, learning disability, Parenting, Reading Disabilities, reading disability, reading intervention, reading problem, reading problems, reading remediation, remedial reading, remediation, Special Education, struggling reader, Struggling Readers
From Reading & Other Learning Disabilities
A Blog by Dr. Gary G. Brannigan and Dr. Howard Margolis
Last week, we presented ten statements to expose evaluation and IEP traps that often harm children with reading disabilities. Today, we’ll discuss the first five.
Agree or Disagree: For an evaluation to help a child, it should focus on testing the child with widely used standardized tests that compare him to other children of his age or grade. Read more...
Advocacy, Dyslexia, dyslexic, dyslexics, evaluation, evaluations, IDEA, IDEIA, IEP, IEPs, Individualized Education Program, Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act, Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act of 2004, intervention, Learning Disabilities, learning disability, Parenting, Reading Disabilities, reading disability, reading intervention, reading problem, reading problems, reading remediation, remedial reading, remediation, Special Education, struggling reader, Struggling Readers
Evaluation and IEP Traps
From Reading & Other Learning Disabilities
A Blog by Dr. Gary G. Brannigan and Dr. Howard Margolis
If your child is eligible for special education and you’re involved in developing his IEP, you may want to think about and respond to these statements. Next week we’ll post our responses. Read more...
- Agree or Disagree: For an evaluation to help a child, it should focus on testing the child with widely used standardized tests that compare him to other children of his age or grade.
- Agree or Disagree: Schools should use a child’s test scores to determine the method(s) most likely to help her.
Advocacy, Dyslexia, dyslexic, dyslexics, evaluation, evaluations, IDEA, IDEIA, IEP, IEPs, Individualized Education Program, Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act, Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act of 2004, intervention, Learning Disabilities, learning disability, Parenting, Reading Disabilities, reading disability, reading intervention, reading problem, reading problems, reading remediation, remedial reading, remediation, Special Education, struggling reader, Struggling Readers
From Reading & Other Learning Disabilities, A Blog by
Dr. Gary G. Brannigan & Dr. Howard Margolis
Parents and school personnel often make a critical mistake. They assume that instruction and related factors do little or nothing to cause or sustain reading disabilities, that all reading problems lie within the struggling reader. Thus, reading and other educational evaluations that reflect this assumption stress five things: testing, testing, testing, testing, and testing. They minimize or ignore everything else. Read more...
Dyslexia, dyslexic, dyslexics, evaluation, evaluations, learning assessment, Learning Disabilities, learning disability, learning evaluation, reading assessment, Reading Disabilities, reading disability, reading evaluation, reading problem, reading problems, struggling reader, Struggling Readers, test, testing
