Purpose of the Refresher Training

1. CCCCOLearning Disabilities Eligibility & Services Model (LDESM) Refresher Training Araksya Arutyunyan, PsyDKrystle Taylor, M.S., CRCApril 12, 2019

2. Purpose of the Refresher Training • Confirm best practices • Review of the LDESM since Title 5 revisions • Address LD-related questions

3. Assumptions About Participants • All certified LD Specialists • All trained in the most recent assessment instruments • Our pace is set for those already working within the LD field and our community colleges

4. Overview of the LD Eligibility & Services Model • Eligibility Components • Procedures in the LDESM • Updates to assessment batteries • Updates to CARS-W

5. Eligibility Components • Intake Screening • Measured Achievement (OPTIONAL) • Ability Level • Processing Deficit AND/OR • Aptitude-Achievement Discrepancy • Eligibility Recommendation

6. Procedures in the LDESM • Primary Procedures • Secondary Procedures • Professional Certification • Evaluation of Prior Documentation

7. Assessment and Validity Issues As a reminder… • Procedural Validity • Ensures that the test or procedure chosen for evaluating the student is the best measure of the skill or ability to be assessed • Administration Validity • Did anything occur in the course of administering the procedure which would invalidate the results?

8. Examiner Guidelines & Code of Fair Testing Practices • Qualifications of Examiners • Maintenance of Test Security • FERPA; students under age 18 • Selecting Appropriate Tests • Interpreting Scores • Code of Fair Testing Practices • Informing Test Takers

9. Intake Screening Component • Student understanding of assessment: • Complete Consent Form • Completion of the Intake Interview • LD Specialist reviews Intake Interview with student and provide strategies for improvement • Evaluate Prior Documentation (as appropriate) • Proceed to appropriate component

10. Intake Interview • Most important assessment tool in LDESM • Intake Interview provides opportunity to: • Gather in-depth information about student • Provide immediate strategies for improvement • Consider/rule out alternative explanations • Establish hypotheses • Evaluate prior documentation (if applicable) • LD Specialist should be the individual to review the ISER with the student • Current ISER is from 2016

11. Intake Interview continued… • The ISER 2016 version has a couple revisions: • Expanded question #4 related to challenges in specific academic areas • Addition of Life Skills and Work History

12. Intake Interview continued… Best practices… • The Intake Interview is unquestionably the most important part of the assessment battery. • Establishes rapport with student and LD Specialist • Gathers the experiences and educational exposure of the student • Begins the identification of strategies to immediately help the student • Rules our alternative explanations for difficulties • If co-morbidity exists, then either rule out LD or pursue both • Helps establish a hypothesis about appropriate test selection

13. Intake Interview Implementation Issues As a reminder – • Implementation issues: Should I test someone with a psychological disability? • Watch presentation Kim/Dr. Brooke Choo gave at CAPED • Should I test someone who is Deaf or Hard of Hearing? • Watch presentation Dr. Brooke Choo/Monica Collins gave at CAPED! • Interworks Institute/DSPS Solutions • http://dspssolutions.org/ Should I test someone for whom English is a second language?

14. Component Checks Completed for each component of the LDESM: • Select procedure • Complete procedural validity check • Complete selected procedure • Complete administration validity check • Calculate scores for chosen scales • Determine if student’s performance meets the criterion • Proceed to appropriate component

15. Ability Level Component • Primary Procedures • Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-Fourth Edition (WAIS-IV) (2008) • Woodcock-Johnson IV Tests of Cognitive Abilities (2014) • Criterion > 85

16. Ability Level Component: WAIS-IV • Using the WAIS-IV: • Select from FSIQ, VCI, PRI, GAI • Criteria Scores ≥ SS 85 (SEM Can be used)

17. Sample WAIS-IV

18. Sample WAIS-IV • The WAIS-IV SEM table can be found on page 2 of the Score Report print out.

19. Ability Level Component: WJ-IV Cog • The following clusters may be used: • GIA • Gf-Gc Composite

20. Ability Level Component: WJ-IV Cog

21. Ability Level Component • Secondary Procedures (Criterion > 85) • Standard Progressive Matrices (SPM) (1958) • Use CARSW CCC norms • Directions and scoring forms in your manual • WJ IV Oral Language • Broad Oral Language • Oral Language • Oral Expression • Batería Woodcock-Muñoz—IV: Pruebas de HabilidadCognitiva

22. Intellectual Disability (ID) Criteria • The students documentation indicates the following criterion have been met: • Significant limitations both in intellectual functioning and adaptive behavior that affect and limit the student’s ability to access the educational process • The disability originated before the age of 18

23. Intellectual Disability (ID) Eligibility • The disability may be verified by using documentation from a referring agency and may be reported in the Intellectual Disability category by meeting one of the five standards: • _________ A. This student has an earned standard score less than or equal to 70 on a professionally accepted ability assessment. OR

24. Intellectual Disability (ID) Eligibility • _________ B. The student has an earned standard score of 84 or below and at least one of the seven following indicators is documented. • History of special education • History of sheltered or supported employment • History of unemployment or limited entry level employment • Dependent / semi-independent living environment • Client status with the State Department of Rehabilitation • Client status with the Regional Center • Academic skill deficiency

25. Intellectual Disability (ID) Eligibility OR • _________ C. The student has an IEP or other documentation that indicates the student has ID. OR • ________ D. The student is a client of the Regional Center and is reported as having ID. OR • _______ E. The student is a client of the Department of Rehabilitation and is reported as having ID.

26. Intellectual Disability (ID) Verification • ID verification form in your manual (p. 64 of revised manual) • Remember - Our criteria is different from Intellectual Disability (ID) per DSM criteria and societal standards • Want to know more? Watch video posted on Interworks Institute/DSPS Solutions website of the presentation Brooke, Patti and Adam gave at CAPED on DDL/Intellectual Disabilities: • http://dspssolutions.org/

27. Processing Deficit Component • Identifies specific deficits in the ability to acquire, store, retrieve, or express information • Distinguishes students with learning disabilities from students who are under-achieving or low-achieving for other reasons • This is most indicative of a learning disability • This is what is most correlated with the learning problems *And/OrOptionwith Aptitude-Achievement (next slide)

28. Processing Deficit and Aptitude-Achievement Discrepancy And/Or Option • Change from 2016: Addition of And/Or consideration between processing deficit and aptitude/achievement discrepancy in decision making • Came about after years of concern in our field that: • Some students we test clearly have LD but don’t meet the numbers • Don’t qualify because don’t have both processing deficit and aptitude/achievement discrepancy • The CSUs moved to this consideration because a small number of students had ameliorated the aptitude/achievement discrepancy through the years with accommodations and strategies • Processing deficit primary consideration as this shows the disability

29. Processing Deficit and Aptitude-Achievement Discrepancy And/Or Option • This option is never automatic: • Statistically would “over identify” students as LD. • Like Professional Certification, this is the exception to the rule and rarely used • Requires defensible professional judgement • Used only when overwhelming rationale exists • The strong rationale must be documented in Eligibility Record notes • Alternative explanations ruled out • Have years of academic difficulty past/present only explained by LD, for example: • Had non-special education intervention in K-12 • Instructor referred and reports strong attendance, effort in class, all work turned in, yet continues to struggle • Used tutoring, instructor office hours, strategies yet still struggling • Processing problems may have been observed during testing, but did now show in the data

30. Processing Deficit Component • Primary Procedures • Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-IV • Criterion based on values in tables (in Manual) • See comparisons allowed (WMI-PSI can’t be only one) • Woodcock-Johnson IV Tests of Cognitive Abilities • Criterion > -1.3 SD Difference • Secondary Procedures • Batería Woodcock-Muñoz—IV: Pruebas de HabilidadCognitiva • Woodcock-Johnson III Tests of Cognitive Abilities: Phonemic Awareness and Working Memory Clinical Cluster Scores

31. Sample Processing Deficit Component – WAIS-IV • PRI SS 121 – VCI SS 91 = 30 point difference • Per the criterion score table, the criterion score for this student is 10 points • Student meets the Processing Deficit Component

32. Sample Processing Deficit Component – WJ-COG • Only the highlighted CHC Factors can be used • Criterion Score -1.3 SD Difference • Make sure score report setting is set to 1.3 SD • Student meets the Processing Deficit Component – Fluid Reasoning

33. Sample Processing Deficit Component – WJ-COG • Second table that can be used • Only the highlighted CHC Factors can be used • Criterion Score -1.3 SD Difference • Make sure score report setting is set to 1.3 SD • Student does NOT meet the Processing Deficit Component

34. Aptitude-Achievement Discrepancy and Breadth of Assessment • A comprehensive achievement battery must be administered • A comprehensive achievement battery includes tests which measure current academic functioning in: • Reading (decoding as well as comprehension) • Mathematics • Written language • As well as timed and untimed functioning .

35. Selecting Achievement Tests Best practices… • Review Intake – what weaknesses were presented? What does the transcript and current course difficulties show? • Give math, reading, writing and fluency clusters/composites to identify skill areas of strengths and weaknesses • During testing note behaviors that identify skills used to approach each test, rate, attention to detail, and error patterns

36. Achievement Testing

37. Aptitude - Achievement Discrepancy Component • Discrepancy procedure steps: • Determine the difference score • If using WJ IV COG. & ACH tests, locate discrepancies in Dashboard • For all other comparisons, use the reference tables from your manual • Determine criterion value • Determine if student’s performance meets the criterion • Use of the And/Oroption must be used with caution

38. Aptitude - Achievement Discrepancy Component • Primary and Secondary Aptitude Measures • Same as in Ability Component • Primary Achievement Procedures: • Woodcock-Johnson IV Tests of Achievement (WJ IV ACH) (2014) • Wechsler Individual Achievement Test-III (WIAT-III) (2009) • Wide Range Achievement Test 5 (WRAT 5) (2018) • Degrees of Reading Power (DRP) (1989) • Nelson-Denny Reading Test Forms I and J (2018) • Mathematics Diagnostic Testing Project (MDTP) Algebra Readiness (1986 and 1990), Elementary Algebra (1986), and Intermediate Algebra (1986)

39. Sample Aptitude - Achievement Discrepancy Component – WJ IV

40. Aptitude - Achievement Discrepancy Component • Secondary Achievement Procedures • BateríaWoodcock-Muñoz—IV: Pruebas de Aprovechamiento

41. Aptitude - Achievement Discrepancy Component Best practices… • Selections for aptitude-achievement comparisons should be based on the nature of the referral and the specific areas of difficulty that are apparent in the student’s work/grades • For comparisons to be accurate, the LD specialist should plan the student's testing carefully in order to address specific difficulties

42. Aptitude - Achievement Discrepancy ComponentImplementation Issues • On WJ IV COG – using the GIA (may be more difficult to meet this comp. than using the WAIS IV because it is an average that contains their processing deficit too) • WAIS IV: Pick their cognitive strength to compare to their achievement weakness • Start with their verbal and nonverbal reasoning skills (VCI or PRI) and compare that to their ach. weakness per area of intake complaint (i.e. math difficulty)

43. Breadth Related toAptitude - Achievement Discrepancy Component • Assessing the breadth of skills is critical to help the student with their learning in an area of weakness • If a student complains about difficulties in math, you can give an extended math assessment • Your selection for the Aptitude - Achievement Discrepancy Component must (ideally) make sense, be logical– it’s NOT just the largest difference score

44. Eligibility Recommendation Component • Make eligibility determination • Complete Eligibility Record • Document educational limitations, recommended accommodations and strategies to improve learning • Sign recommendation

45. Eligibility Recommendation Component • Collect data • Intake Interview/Transcript • Standardized Assessments • Examiner Observations & Anecdotal Records • Weigh data • Objectivity, reliability, breadth of assessment • Frequency of occurrence, qualitative features • Relation to suspected deficits • During the intake, you must rule out alternative explanations and/or include co-morbidity

46. Educational Limitations • Production of class notes, homework assignments and other written requirements • Processing of visual classroom materials, texts, and other printed materials • Processing of auditory lecture, discussion and other orally presented information • Taking and/or concentrating on exams under standard conditions • Planning appropriate classes and/or completing registration process • Self-advocating with instructors, counselors, and others regarding special needs • Completing course requirements without individual or group tutoring • Completing graduation requirements • Other

47. Educational Limitations as Connected to Assessment • Production of class notes, homework assignments, other written requirements (WMI, PSI, auditory processing, Writing Fluency, Writing subtests) • Processing of visual classroom materials, texts, and other printed materials (PSI, visual processing, reading subtests) • Processing of auditory lecture, discussion and other orally presented information (WMI, auditory processing & attention, oral lang.) • Taking and/or concentrating on exams under standard conditions • Planning appropriate classes and/or completing registration process • Self-advocating with instructors, counselors, and others regarding special needs (RARE – only when you think you cannot teach the student self-advocacy skills) • Completing course requirements without individual or group tutoring • Completing graduation requirements (basically never based on assessment alone)

48. ACCOMMODATIONS & STRATEGIES* • Calculator and/or Multiplication Tables (WM, PRI, Fluid Reasoning, math fluency, calculation) • Word Processor/Speech to Text (spelling, writing samples) • Adaptive Computer Technology (PSI, reading subtests) • Note Taking Assistance (VCI, WMI, PSI, writing fluency, possibly reading subtests) • Alternative Examination Formats • Extended Time (identify amount, typically start with 1.5 time) • Distraction Reduced Setting • Oral or Taped Examination Administration • Other

49. ACCOMMODATIONS & STRATEGIES* • Alternative Text Format (RFB&D, e-text, etc.) (reading) • Scribe (more common for a mobility disability, rare for LD) • Tape Recorded Lectures(WMI, auditory processing & attention, writing fluency) • Tutoring in (subjects and should already be occurring) * • Reduced Course Load (needed less with new insurance ruling)* • Registration Assistance (priority registration) • Learning Strategies Training (but identify strategies now)* • Peer Study Groups* • Acquiring knowledge of and assistance from college and community resources (list)* • Other (list – specific courses for example)*

50. Measured Achievement Component (OPTIONAL) • Primary Procedures • Woodcock-Johnson IV Tests of Achievement • Wechsler Individual Achievement Test – III • Wide Range Achievement Test 5 • Degrees of Reading Power • Nelson-Denny Reading Test Forms I and J • Mathematics Diagnostic Testing Project • Criterion > 81