1. D-3 Using Data to Drive Decisions for Instruction Understanding and Applying Special Education Evaluations Debbie Husson, M.A., C.E.D. Lead Educational Diagnostician Carol S. Lobato, M.S., CCC-SLP Lead Speech-Language Pathologist Las Cruces Public Schools February 5, 2010

2. Evaluators use intervention data and observations to: Design test battery Rule out exclusionary factors Confirm test findings Develop instructional recommendations Suggest modifications and accommodations to general education instruction

3. Eligibility for Special Education services requires: Diagnosed exceptionality Demonstrated need for special education services Exclusionary factors ruled out

4. Specific Learning Disabilities are NOT the result of: Lack of appropriate instruction in reading Lack of appropriate instruction in math Limited English Proficiency Visual, hearing, or motor disability Mental retardation Emotional disturbance Cultural factors Environmental or economic disadvantage

5. To determine eligibility as SLD, evaluators look at: Expected achievement Obtained achievement The role that information processing plays for that child in the classroom/during instruction How different is this child from his peers Demonstrated need for services

6. To determine eligibility as SLI- Language:  Significantly below average oral language skills  How different is this child from his peers?  Demonstrated need for services

7. Effective classroom instruction should consider: Expected achievement Obtained achievement The role that information processing plays for that child in the classroom/during instruction How different is this child from his peers

8. NORMATIVE BELL CURVE

9. INTEPRETING TEST SCORES (CAUTION: Descriptors vary from test to test) Subtest Score Mean 10 Standard Deviation (SD) 3 Standard Score Mean 100 SD 15 PercentileDescriptor 17 to 20131 and above98 and aboveVery Superior 15 to 16121 to 13092 to 98Superior 13 to 14111 to 12077 to 91High Average 8 to 1290 to 11025 to 75Average 6 to 780 to 899 to 23Low Average 4 to 570 to 792 to 8Below Average 1 to 369 and below2 and below Well Below Average

10. Expected achievement Where do we anticipate a child’s obtained performance to fall? Based on ability score Used to level the ability playing field

11. WISC-IV Scores (Expectancy) CompositesSSConf Int%-ileDescriptor Verbal Comprehension8175 to 8910Low Average Perceptual Reasoning9689 to 10439Average Working Memory6560 to 751Extremely Low Processing Speed8376 to 9413Low Average Full Scale7874 to 847Borderline General Ability Index8883 to 9421Low average

12. Achievement Where is the student actually functioning? Learning Disability Evaluation Scale (Teacher input) SubscalesQT %- ile Descriptor Listening809Intervention Needed Thinking682Serious Need for Intervention Speaking8313Intervention Needed Reading723Intervention Needed Writing9332Normal Range Spelling10050Normal Range Mathematical Calculations 10563Normal Range

13. Kaufman Test of Educational Achievement, Second Edition Composites SS %- ile Descriptor Reading Composite787Below average Math Composite8516Average Written Language Composite8212Below average Sound-Symbol8923Average Decoding8414Below average Reading Fluency776Below average Oral Fluency798Below average

14. Information Processing (Where’s the glitch?) Visual Auditory Short term memory Long term memory Working memory Phonological processing Fluency Executive functions Rapid naming Oral language Etc.

15. Test of Auditory Processing Skills – 3 rd Edition SubtestsScS%-ile Word Discrimination825 Phonological Segmentation716 Phonological Blending825 Numbers Forward10.13 Numbers Reversed10.13 Word Memory10.13 Sentence Memory69 Auditory Comprehension937 Auditory Reasoning55 Index Standard ScoresSS%-ile Overall Score755 Phonologic8821 Memory610.47 Cohesion8516

16. ORAL LANGUAGE ASSESSMENT Phonological Awareness Receptive Language Expressive Language Language Content Language Structure Language Organization Language Use Language Memory Language-based critical thinking Social Language

17. Clinical Evaluation of Language Fundamentals-4 (CELF-4) Core and Index ScoresSS%-ileDescriptor Core Language Score600.38Very Low Receptive Language Index702Very Low Expressive Language Index590.31Very Low Language Content Index787Marginal Language Memory Index560.17Very Low

18. CELF-4 Regular SubtestsScS%-ile Concepts and Following Directions31 Recalling Sentences31 Formulated Sentences31 Word Classes 2-Receptive69 Word Classes 2-Expressive42 Word Classes 2-Total55 Word Definitions69 Understanding Spoken Paragraphs825

19. Test of Language Development – Intermediate: 3 rd Edition CompositesQT %- ile Descriptor Spoken Language8313Below Average Listening8923Below Average Speaking798Poor Semantics8516Below Average Syntax8313Below Average

20. Test of Problem Solving -3 Elementary Descriptor SS%-ile Making Inferences Give logical explanations about a situation, combining what the student knows/sees with previous experience and background information 9026 Sequencing Determine and explain logical, everyday sequences of events 777 Negative Questions Answer why something would not occur or why one shouldn’t take a particular action in a situation 9639 Problem Solving Recognize the problem, identify solutions, evaluate these options and state an appropriate solution 777 Predicting Make likely predictions about what will happen or would happen if a certain action was taken 9845 Determining Causes Give a logical reason for some aspect of a situation presented in a photograph 10461 Total Test (Composite score – Overall test performance) 8720

21. Effective classroom instruction should consider: Expected achievement Obtained achievement The role that information processing plays for that child in the classroom/during instruction How different is this child from his peers ……AND

22. REPORT RECOMMENDATIONS PROVIDE….. Areas of instructional need Modifications to curriculum Accommodations for general education curriculum …to be used in instructional planning.