Procedures for Assessing Student

Procedures for Assessing Students for Dyslexia

Procedures Prior to Formal Assessment

For students that demonstrate difficulties during early reading instruction (Kindergarten, grades 1 & 2), the most common form of instructional help is available through the Student Success Initiative (SSI). The campus will administer early reading instruments to all students in Kindergarten and grades 1 & 2 to assess their reading development. If, on the basis of the reading instrument results, students are determined to be at risk for dyslexia or other reading difficulties, the campus must notify the student's parents or guardians. The campus must also implement an accelerated (intensive) reading program that appropriately addresses the students' reading difficulties and enables them to "catch up" with their typically performing peers.

Prior to any formal assessment for dyslexia, the campus will refer the student to the campus Student Support Team (SST). The SST will develop interventions that will intensify the student's reading instruction in addition to the core reading instruction. Repeated assessments (progress monitoring) will be documented and reported to the parents.

1. Data Gathering

At any time (from Kindergarten through grade 12) that a student continues to struggle with one or more components of reading, the campus must collect additional information about the student. The campus should use this information to evaluate the student's academic progress and determine what actions are needed to ensure the student's improved academic performance. Some of the information that the campus collects is in the student's cumulative folder; other information is available from teachers and parents or guardians. To ensure that underachievement in a student suspected of having dyslexia is not due to lack of appropriate instruction in reading, other information should be considered. This information should include data that demonstrates the student was provided appropriate instruction and data-based documentation of repeated assessments of achievement at reasonable intervals (progress monitoring), reflecting formal assessment of student progress during instruction. This is information from the campus SST. Additional information to be considered includes the results from some or all of the following:

	Vision screening;
	Hearing screening;
	Teacher reports of classroom concerns;
	Basal reading series assessment;
	Accommodations provided by classroom teachers;
	Academic progress reports (report cards);
	Gifted/talented assessments;
	Samples of school work;
	Parent conferences;
	Testing for limited English proficiency;
	Speech and language screening through a referral process
	The K-2 reading instruments for SSI;
	Universal/screening for all grade levels available;
	State student assessments

If the gathered information indicates the student is having difficulties in one or more areas of reading:

	Despite the provision of effective classroom instruction and intensive reading interventions;
	That is unexpected for the student's age and/or grade;
	Exhibiting the characteristics of dyslexia

Then the student should be referred for dyslexia assessment through either Section 504 or special education procedures.

2. Formal Assessment Through Section 504

These procedures must be followed:

	Give written notification and obtain written consent from parents or guardians of proposal to assess student for dyslexia.
	Inform parents or guardians of their rights under Section 504.
	Gather & collect information as described above; including Section 504 information from parents, school nurse, and student's teacher(s) to be given to campus dyslexia coordinator and/or campus 504 coordinator.
	Assess student.

The campus dyslexia coordinator will conduct an assessment for dyslexia using the Amarillo ISD dyslexia testing kits and completing the Amarillo ISD Dyslexia Assessment Profile form.

English Language Learners (ELL)

The identification and service delivery process for dyslexia must be in step with the student's linguistic environment and educational background. Involvement of the Language Proficiency Assessment Committee (LPAC) is required.

When considering whether an ELL student may have dyslexia, you will need to address the following questions.

Did the student start to show the phonemic problems when they were in the stage of transitioning into English?

Having difficulties in phonics or decoding when a student is in this transitional stage is common. The student should not be considered as possibly having dyslexia.

Is the ESL/bilingual student mixing the sounds from their native language with the sounds of the English language?

An example of this would be when a student whose native language is Spanish and he sees the letter "i" in an English word. He decodes this /i/ as long vowel e. He is using the Spanish sound for the letter. It is very common for students who have a native language other than English to do this. This is not an example of a student with dyslexia.

Does the student have difficulty in class when asked to do rhyming, locating beginning-middle-ending sounds, or substituting sounds?

You will need to investigate if this student has been given direct instruction in how to do these types of exercises. Remember, the educational background of ESL/bilingual students may be very different from students who have been in the US educational system. They may be having more difficulty with the structure of the task and not the actual phonics sounds. Be sure the student has had repeated experiences and/or interventions in the cognitive processes and steps it takes to understand how to complete these types of tasks before you consider him/her as having dyslexia.

Do the phonemic difficulties occur only in the English language?

A student with dyslexia will have the same difficulty in decoding problem in both native language and English. Dyslexia does not just occur in English. Remember dyslexia is a language-based disorder that results in insufficient phonological processing. It can and does occur in people around the world, no matter what language they speak. So for a student to be considered as having dyslexia, it will be evident in the native language.

Additional Data to Gather (in addition to the information previously listed under "Data Gathering"):

Language Proficiency Assessment Committee (LPAC) documentation that includes the following:

Home Language Survey;

Assessment related to identification for limited English proficiency (oral language proficiency tests and norm-referenced tests);

State Assessment results when available

Texas English Language Proficiency System (TELPAS) information (Reading Proficiency Test in English [RPTE] and Texas Observation Protocol [TOP]);

Type of language programming provided and language of instruction;

Linguistic environment and second-language acquisition development;

Previous schooling in and outside of the United States.

Additional Assessment

Comprehensive oral language proficiency testing should be completed in English and the student's native language whenever possible.

If the student has received academic instruction in his/her native language, as well as English, then the dyslexia assessment needs to be completed in both languages to the appropriate extent.

To appropriately understand assessment results, the campus dyslexia coordinator must interpret the results in light of the student's:

Language development (in both English and the student's native language), educational history, linguistic background, socioeconomic issues, and any other pertinent factors that affect learning.

3. Identification of Students with Dyslexia

In order to make an appropriate identification of dyslexia, the 504 Committee will need to make decisions in the following three areas:

A. The pattern of weaknesses in a student with dyslexia will reflect one or more difficulties with low performance for the student's age and educational level in the following academic skills:

	Reading real words in isolation
	Decoding nonsense words
	Reading fluency (both rate and accuracy)
	Written spelling (an isolated difficulty in spelling would not be sufficient to identify dyslexia)

B. Based on the data, if the committee determines weaknesses are indicated in the listed academic skills, then the committee will look next as the underlying cognitive processes for the difficulties seen in the student' word reading and written spelling. These academic difficulties in reading and written spelling will typically be the result of a deficit in phonological or phonemic awareness. The student may also demonstrate difficulties in other areas of cognitive processing, including rapid naming. If the student exhibits reading and written spelling difficulties and currently has appropriate phonological/phonemic processing, it is important to examine the student's history to determine if there is evidence of previous difficulty with phonological/phonemic awareness. NOTE: Because previous effective instruction in phonological/phonemic awareness may remediate phonological awareness skills in isolation, average phonological awareness scores alone do not rule out dyslexia. Ongoing phonological processing deficits can be exhibited in word reading and/or written spelling.

C. If the committee determines the student exhibits weaknesses in reading and written spelling that are the result of a deficit in phonological/phonemic awareness, the committee will then examine the student's data to determine whether these difficulties are unexpected for the student in relation to the student's other cognitive abilities (the ability to learn in the absence of print) and unexpected in relation to the provision of effective classroom instruction.

If the Section 504 Committee has determined the student is a student with the disability that substantially affects the major life activity of learning, then the student will be eligible for Section 504. The Committee will then determine whether the student needs reading interventions and/or accommodations for the classroom and/or state assessments.