| A school
official may say ... |
An
advocate might respond... |
Advocacy
Strategies |
|
|
|
| This student
does not qualify for LD services because there are no
significant discrepancies. |
...Did you consider the
impact that the learning disability may have had on the
overall score?
...What type of discrepancy are you using and with what
instruments?
|
Look at cognitive strengths
and weaknesses on the intra-cognitive discrepancies and/or
the Standard Score/Percentile (SS/PR) rank profile. |
| This student has average
achievement on the WJIII cluster scores. |
...Did you look at the
specific test scores within each cluster to see if there
are significant differences between those scores? |
Look at the SS/PR profile
to see if there are significant differences between the
tests within a cluster (e.g., perhaps all timed tests
are low). |
|
|
|
| This student has been
retained. |
...Did you score the
test with grade norms or age norms? |
Check on the computer
scoring to see if the test was scored using grade or
age norms. Make sure that age norms were used. |
|
|
|
| The test scores do not
indicate that this student has a disability and is in need
of special education. |
...Did you consider other
types of qualitative information?
...Even though you say that the student is not eligible
for special education services, what specific accommodations
and instructional strategies would be helpful to the
student?
|
Ask to see grades, class
work samples, results from informal measures, and teacher
reports. |
|
|
|
| The standard scores are
all in the average range. |
...Did you look at the
RPI scores? |
Review RPIs in comparison
to standard scores.
|
|
|
|
| This student is bright,
but since his scores are average, he does not qualify
for special education services. |
...Did you consider other
information, such as how he performs the task?
...Did you consider how a cognitive weakness could impact
daily functioning?
|
Look for qualitative
information in parent and teacher reports.
Look for weaknesses in cognitive processing
|
|
|
|
| This student is no longer
eligible for services. |
...What information are
you using to determine that?
...Will the student move from an IEP to a 504 Plan?
|
|
|
|
|
| This student’s
only weakness is spelling so she does not qualify. |
...Poor spelling is one
of the major characteristics of a learning disability
(dyslexia). How will you help the student improve her
spelling? |
|
|
|
|
| This student’s only weakness
is speed, so that’s not really a disability. |
...Slow automaticity and speed are
often the main manifestation of a learning disability,
particularly older student. In addition, IDEA 2004 has
added reading fluency as an area for qualification under
the category of learning disabilities. |
Look at scores of Processing Speed,
Rapid Picture Naming, Cognitive and Academic Fluency. |
| We use RTI in our school
so we don’t do comprehensive evaluations any more. |
IDEA 2004 says that RTI
can be used as a part of the evaluation process, not
the complete process. We feel that a comprehensive evaluation
would help us gain a better understanding of this student’s
strengths and weaknesses. |
See IDEA 2004
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
