Chapter 11

Assessments, At-Risk Students and

Special Needs
 While it is important to understand the ways
students can be ‘challenged’ as they learn, I
believe it is important to view all students as
highly capable. Since teacher expectations of
students are such a powerful factor in their
success, please remember that we’re dealing
with unique human beings who face learning
challenges they didn’t choose. Success for all
students applies to students with learning
challenges too! Dr. T
 Fetal Alcohol Syndrome
 Environmental Risk Factors: Lead, Chemicals.
 Speech Impairments
 Communication Disorders
 Mental Retardation
 Learning Disabilities
 Emotional Disturbances
 Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder
 Asberger’s / Autism
 Physical Handicaps
 Other – each child who is challenged has a unique
set of challenges.
 What it is: the right of each child to a good
education in the ‘least restrictive’ environment
possible.
 What is it not: optional
 Inclusion provides opportunities for creative
pedagogy designed by teachers, parents, and
students. (The Individual Educational Plan or
IEP).
 Special Education: Free and appropriate
education for every child w/ disabilities btw
ages 3 – 21, regardless of how serious the
disability. Public Law 101-476 or Individuals
w/ Disabilities Education Act (IDEA).
 Assessments used to measure, diagnose or
place students w/ disabilities must be free
from racial or cultural bias and be given in
student’s native language.
 Assessments must not be biased because of
child’s disability.
 Protocol and Federal Guidelines must be
followed.
 Public Law 94-142: Describes placement
categories.
 Mentally retarded 11.02 %
 Hearing impaired 1.27%
 Visually impaired .47%
 Emotionally disturbed 8.36%
 Orthopedically impaired 1.25%
 Other health impaired 3.98%
 Deaf-blind .02%
 Multiple disabilities 1.94%
 Learning disabled 50.84%
 Traumatic brain injury .23%
 Autism .96%
 Developmentally delayed .21%
 (U.S. Dept. of Education, 2000)
 Federal and state rules and regulations require that
students are diagnosed and classified within
specific categories in order to receive funding to
serve students with special needs.
 Does this ‘categorizing’ affect your teaching
practice as you work with this student?
 Does a ‘special education’ classification affect the
way you view a student’s capacity and potential?
 How do the terms ‘special education’, ‘special
needs’, ‘handicapped’, etc. affect our interaction
with and conceptualization of students?
 Diagnostic Achievement Tests: Assess
specific skills of students in areas such as
reading or mathematics. Developed by major
test publishing companies, these tests are often
used to diagnose specific learning problems or
learning disabilities.
 Ex: Woodcook-Johnson Psycho-Educational
Battery – Revised, Key Math – Revised
Inventory, etc.
Used to: (1) Pinpoint specific academic problems.
(2) Determine special education placements.
1. Wood-cock Johnson Psycho-Educational
Battery
2. Key Math-Revised Inventory

3. Peabody Individual Achievement Test

4. Stanford Diagnostic Reading and

Mathematics
5. Wide Range Achievement Test
6. Metropolitan Diagnostic (reading, math,
language)
7. May include IQ: WIPPSI, WISK, WAIS