Identification and Evaluation of Learning Disabilities: The School Team’s Guide to Student Success

Ensure that your students have the support they need!

When it comes to designing instruction for students with learning disabilities, one size does not fit all ― and that’s also true for identifying and evaluating learning disabilities. Theories and legislation aside, it’s critical for your school team to have a comprehensive plan to make sure every child gets the right kind of attention―and no one falls through the cracks.

This compelling, easy-to-use handbook guides general educators, special educators, administrators, and school psychologists through the eligibility and evaluation stages to ensure that students get the best services and interventions they need to be successful. You’ll find:

• Guidance on what data to collect and how to collect it
• Strategies for combining RTI with a comprehensive evaluation to diagnose SLD
• Detailed case studies―with graphs, figures, and test scores―at the school, classroom, and individual student level

Everyone on your team has the same goal: to help students with learning challenges achieve success. This comprehensive resource has the tools you need to make that happen.

"This book reminds educators that we are responsible for all of our students. When students are not making the progress we expect, this text offers very specific, practical suggestions that educators can follow. This book helps to identify if a student has a specific learning disability and offers suggestions for addressing the student’s difficulty through a team approach. When using the case studies, teachers will see many examples related to their own students and find new resources to try in their classrooms that will assist those who are having difficulty making significant progress."
―Marcia B. Imbeau, Professor
University of Arkansas

Evelyn S. Johnson is an associate professor of special education at Boise State University and the coauthor of RTI: A Practitioner’s Guide to Implementing Response to Intervention. She began her career in Washington in 1994 as a special education teacher, and then at the University of Washington, Seattle, where her research focused on the inclusion of students with disabilities in accountability systems. Johnson’s work on assessment for students with disabilities has included research on accommodations and alternate assessments, as well as research on screening for reading problems. Prior to joining the faculty at BSU, she worked as a research associate for the National Research Center on Learning Disabilities (NRCLD), where she developed numerous technical assistance products to assist state and local educational agencies on RTI and learning disability identification–related issues. Currently, her research focuses on RTI implementation at the secondary levels.