Guidelines for Assessment and Accommodation Of Students with Learning Disabilities
- Student Responsibility for Verification of a Learning Disability
- Assessment Providers
- Assessment Documentation
- Assessment must be comprehensive and include a test from each category:
- Aptitude
- Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale - Revision 3
- Woodcock Johnson - Tests of Cognitive Ability (WJ-III)
- Kaufman Adult Intelligence Test
- Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scale- 4th Edition
- Achievement
- Woodcock Johnson - Tests of Achievement (WJ-III)
- Woodcock Reading Mastery Tests - Revised: Forms G or H
- Wechsler Individual Achievement Test - II
- Stanford Test of Academic Skills
- Note: The WRAT2/3 is not acceptable as a sole measure of achievement
- Information Processing
- Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale - Revision 3
- Woodcock Johnson: Tests of Cognitive Ability (WJ-III)
- Wechsler Memory Scales
- Wide Range Test of Memory and Learning
- Nelson-Denny Reading Rate/Comprehension Test
- SCAN-A
- L.E.T.
- DTLA
- Any other appropriate assessment of information processing
- Aptitude
- Assessment must be current
- Because the provision of all academic accommodations is based upon the impact of a disability on current academic performance, psychoeducational assessment should have been conducted no earlier than three years prior to the student's initial request for disability-related services at the University.
- Diagnostic report must include
- Clinician's name, title, license number, phone number, address, and signature on office letterhead
- Written summary of developmental, medical, educational, family, and social histories and behavioral observations
- Summary of all instruments and procedures; date(s) of examination
- All test scores (subtest & standard scores, percentiles) and a detailed interpretation of the results, including strengths and weaknesses
- Clearly described intracognitive and/or aptitude-achievement discrepancies, or the clinician's rationale for "professional judgment"
- Clear statement of a specific diagnosis
- Statement of how the learning disability substantially interferes with the student's educational progress along with recommendations for academic accommodations
- Assessment must be comprehensive and include a test from each category:
- Academic Accommodations
- Designed to meet a student's disability-related needs without fundamentally altering the nature of the instructional program or altering any directly-related licensing program.
- Not intended to provide remediation (instruction in basic skills not acquired earlier in the educational process; e.g. basic grammar, basic math, English as a Second Language, etc.)
- Specific support services will be authorized at the initial intake appointment to best meet the needs of the individual
It is the legal responsibility of each student seeking accommodations and services from Cal Poly's Disability Resource Center to provide a written, comprehensive evaluation verifying the diagnosis. Although the University does not provide assessment and diagnostic services, students suspecting a learning disability are encouraged to see a Learning Disabilities Specialist for screening and referral assistance.
The Disability Resource Center maintains a partial list of local clinicians who provide psychoeducational assessment services. Any licensed educational psychologist, psychologist, neurologist, or learning disabilities specialist can administer the assessments. The clinician must be a neutral, unrelated, non-biased professional. You may want to first check with your health insurance regarding availability of possible coverage. Look in the Yellow Pages or call your local community college/school district for referrals.
Note
To ensure a valid and comprehensive assessment process, please share this document with your clinician before testing. Questions? Please call us at (805) 756-1395.
