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Pitfall:
Prolonged waiting period for actual testing to be done. If finally
tested, after many months of waiting for results, the decision is
often made that it is "too late in the year" to begin
a remedial program.
Remedy: Get precise dates for testing and reporting of results.
Don't leave the meeting without them.
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Pitfall:
Comparison of a child to some norm, usually a bell-curve.
Remedy:
One cannot predict performance for an individual based on any bell-curve.
The evaluation also has to consider the daily performance on simple
measurable tasks that the student is expected to do. It has to pinpoint
the specific difficulty that the student is experiencing.
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Pitfall:
Testing provides a snapshot of the child's performance, not a consistent
overview. Such snapshots can be highly misleading.
Remedy: An analysis of the student's work on a particular topic
over a number of days will offer a more complete picture of strengths
and weaknesses.
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Pitfall:
Teachers, principals and specialists often overgeneralize test results.
They may attribute symptoms to the child which are outside the realm
of the test.
Remedy: Test results have to be related to the individual deficits
in specific curriculum areas of every individual child.
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Pitfall:
Many of the tests are out-dated and haven't been re-normed in decades.
Remedy: Ask what specific tests are going to be employed in the
assessment and when they were last updated. Reject any tests which
have not been updated in ten years.
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Pitfall:
Tests are often conducted and interpreted by individuals not trained
in their use.
Remedy: Ask about the credentials of the persons giving the test,
their specific training in tests and measurement and whether or
not they are working under the supervision of a certified psychometrist
or psychologist.
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Pitfall:
Conclusions and decisions based on such tests are placed in the
student's records and are extremely difficult to expunge.
Remedy: Make arrangements that any information regarding the tests
will be included in the student's permanent records only with your
written approval.
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Pitfall:
Despite the testing, often no intervention occurs. According to
the research 85% of whatever intervention occurs results in no measurable
change.
Remedy: Determine the effectiveness of the program, if any is going
to be implemented, with empirical evidence of change in other students
with the same diagnosis.
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Pitfall:
Observable measures of student performance are available but are
generally unused and/or unaccepted by public educators.
Remedy: There will be no remedy for this until teacher training
includes the use of continuous observable data of student performance
on specific tasks over several days.
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