The assessment process is lengthy!!!

• Why RtI gained popularity (cuts to the chase, everyone is responding versus going out of their way to get evaluated)
• Evaluation for a LD takes around 9 hours of face to face time. Schools may have 20/30/40 kids with a potential LD and might not want to spend that kind of time. SO: they cut corners on evaluations and run evaluations for 4-5 hours instead.

3 basic pieces to LD Assessment:

1. Mental Ability (IQ)
   • Takes 75 minutes - 1.5 hours to administer test
   • In severe cases, LD may affect IQ test
2. Achievement (Reading, Writing, Math, Oral Language — isn’t considered "achievement" but fits best) Assessment
   • ~4 hours (read silently, orally, single words, non-words — track reading speed)
   • Regression to the mean on the extremes:
     • If your IQ is above average, expect achievement to be a little lower
     • If your IQ is below average, expect achievement to be a little higher
3. Processes Underlying Learning (Memory, Attention, Visual Motor Skills, Perceptions — visual/auditory)
   • What may cause underachievement if there is a difference between 1 and 2
   • Takes several hours to administer
     • schools don’t have the luxury to spend all this time on assessments so most tend to cut corners here even though this could inform what could be done to fix the problem!!!
   • Sometimes you can find deficiencies here that don’t show up in underachievement: These are the kids with LDs who have found coping, adaptive strategies that are beneficial given the nature of their LD (not that there is no LD)