Diagnosing Children's Writing Disabilities: Different Tests Give Different Results

2005 ◽  
Vol 101 (1) ◽  
pp. 72-78 ◽  
Author(s):  
Susan D. Mayes ◽  
Susan L. Calhoun ◽  
Susan E. Lane
Keyword(s):  
Writing Skills ◽  
School Psychologist ◽  
Written Language ◽  
Written Expression ◽  
Writing Problems ◽  
Children's Writing ◽  
Clinical Disorders ◽  
Writing Disabilities ◽  
Individual Achievement ◽  
Woodcock Johnson

Writing problems are common in children with clinical disorders. However, there are significant intra-individual differences between the ability to spell words, construct sentences, and compose text. Therefore, achievement tests measuring different writing skills may not be consistent in identifying children who have these various writing disabilities. Our study compared scores on the Woodcock-Johnson Written Language subtests (which measure the ability to produce single words and single sentences) with scores on the Wechsler Individual Achievement Test Written Expression subtest (which assesses compositional writing skills) in 54 children referred by their teachers to a school psychologist for writing problems. The Woodcock-Johnson only identified 35% of children as having significant writing problems, whereas the Wechsler test identified 78%. Our study suggests that the latter is more likely than the Woodcock-Johnson to identify students who have problems in compositional writing.

Diagnosing Written Language Disabilities Using the Woodcock-Johnson Tests of Educational Achievement—Revised and the Wechsler Individual Achievement Test

2000 ◽  
Vol 87 (1) ◽  
pp. 197-204 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael B. Brown ◽  
Marc J. Giandenoto ◽  
Larry M. Bolen
Keyword(s):  
Special Education ◽  
Learning Disabilities ◽  
Educational Achievement ◽  
Achievement Test ◽  
Written Expression ◽  
Special Education Services ◽  
Specific Test ◽  
Education Services ◽  
Individual Achievement ◽  
Woodcock Johnson

The writing portions of the Woodcock-Johnson Tests of Educational Achievement–Revised and the Wechsler Individual Achievement Test are often administered when establishing eligibility for special education services due to learning disabilities. The scores on these measures are typically regarded as equivalent although little is known about how scores on the two measures differ for the same students. Differences of only a few points, however, may affect eligibility for special education services. These tests were administered to 25 sixth grade students previously diagnosed with learning disabilities in written expression only. Students' Wechsler scores were consistently higher on the overall writing composite, while there was no difference in the mean scores on the language mechanics subtests. The WIAT Written Expression subtest mean, however, was significantly higher than the Woodcock-Johnson Writing Samples subtest mean. Use of the Wechsler test would be less likely to identify children for special education services in written expression when point discrepancy criteria are utilized for eligibility. Clinicians should be cognizant of the effect of the specific test chosen on eligibility outcome.

Learning Disabilities in Written Expression

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carleen Franz ◽  
Lee Ascherman ◽  
Julia Shaftel
Keyword(s):  
Oral Language ◽  
Motor Coordination ◽  
Written Language ◽  
Reading Disorders ◽  
Spatial Skills ◽  
Academic Tasks ◽  
Writing Problems ◽  
Writing Disabilities ◽  
Underlying Causes ◽  
The Individual

Writing disabilities have many potential origins, including oral language deficits, motor coordination problems, and reading disabilities. Multiple potential sources of written language problems are described, along with the integrative aspects of the writing process that make it one of the most demanding academic tasks. Remedial interventions vary according to the identified cause of the problem based on the results of the psychoeducational evaluation. Remediation targeting the individual and modifications to classroom instruction may be required. Case studies illustrate three different underlying causes of writing problems. Key among these are motor and spatial skills, general language ability, and comorbid behavioral or reading disorders.

scholarly journals Teaching and Learning Writing Skills in a Low-Ses, Urban Primary Classroom

1995 ◽  
Vol 27 (2) ◽  
pp. 213-242 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ellen McIntyre
Keyword(s):  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Writing Skills ◽  
Error Rates ◽  
Written Language ◽  
Low Ses ◽  
Primary Classroom ◽  
Complex Sentences ◽  
School Year ◽  
Children's Writing ◽  
Journal Entries

This study investigated which writing skills were learned in one low-SES, urban, primary classroom in relation to the children's instruction. The skills measured in this study included fluency, a sense of audience and purpose, organization, use of “written” language (rather than oral), use of lively or engaging language, use of compound or lengthy sentences, end mark punctuation, capitalization, and spelling. The children's learning was studied in light of instruction from a whole-language perspective. Participants were three teachers who team-taught a group of primary-age children and 11 children who were considered conventional writers at the beginning of the study, 3 of whom had learning disabilities. Children's writing folders and journal entries were collected in late September and compared to their writing samples in late March/early April. The first five skills (above) were examined holistically using a rubric, and the final four skills were examined through word and sentence counts and error rates. To capture learning in its instructional context, the teachers and children were observed twice a month for a school year during literacy instruction, and six visits were tape-recorded. Teachers were interviewed and lesson plans were photocopied. The children in this classroom became more fluent writers who used more complex sentences and lively language. Children used surface level skills for some purposes, but the skills did not become automatic. Although the teachers changed their instruction midyear to meet the needs of learners, their instruction was not always a part of the children's writing. More opportunities for editing and publishing and more explicit instruction on particular skills may be needed for some of the children.

Functional and structural neural plasticity effects of literacy acquisition in adulthood

2019 ◽  
Vol 30 (2) ◽  
pp. 97-107
Author(s):  
Melanie Boltzmann ◽  
Thomas Münte ◽  
Bahram Mohammadi ◽  
Jascha Rüsseler
Keyword(s):  
Neural Plasticity ◽  
Adult Literacy ◽  
Writing Skills ◽  
Literacy Skills ◽  
Written Language ◽  
Learning To Read ◽  
Workplace Literacy ◽  
Functional Illiteracy ◽  
Brain Changes ◽  
Definition Of

Abstract. In Germany, 7.5 Million individuals between 18 and 64 years are considered to be functionally illiterate (Grotlüschen & Riekmann, 2012). Functional illiterates have only rudimentary literacy skills despite attending school for several years. Although they can use written language to a very limited extent, only few functional illiterates attend literacy courses for adults. In addition, most adult literacy courses primarily aim at promoting basic reading and writing skills. Offers specific to workplace literacy are scarce. This review gives an overview of the definition of functional illiteracy. Afterwards, a specific literacy program (AlphaPlus) and its effectiveness will be presented. The reviewed studies indicate that learning to read in adulthood is associated with structural and functional brain changes.

THE ROLE OF LITERACY METHODS IN MASTERING OF WRITTEN LANGUAGE BY STUDENTS WITH DEVELOPMENTAL DYSLEXIA

2019 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 10-18
Author(s):  
Tsvetanka Tsenova
Keyword(s):  
Experimental Work ◽  
Developmental Dyslexia ◽  
Reading Skills ◽  
Writing Skills ◽  
Written Language ◽  
Reading And Writing ◽  
Empirical Verification ◽  
Literacy Methods ◽  
The Relationship

This article focuses on the relationship between literacy methods applied at school and the emergence of serious difficulties in mastering reading and writing skills that shape the developmental dyslexia. The problem was analyzed theoretically and subjected to empirical verification. Experimental work was presented which aims to study the phonological and global reading skills of 4- th grade students with and without dyslexia. Better global reading skills have been demonstrated in all tested children, and this is much more pronounced in those with dyslexia than their peers without disorders. Hence, the need to develop a special, corrective methodology for literacy of students with developmental dyslexia consistent with their psychopathological characteristics.

WRITING SKILLS IN SMP USWATUN HASANAH, BURU DISTRICT

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
HARZIKO
Keyword(s):  
Middle School Students ◽  
Language Skills ◽  
Writing Skills ◽  
Boarding School ◽  
Written Language ◽  
Data Sources ◽  
Reading Process ◽  
School Students ◽  
Junior High Students ◽  
The Media

Abstract Reading is a process carried out and used by the reader to obtain a message, which the writer wants to convey through the media of written language. A process that demands that groups of words which are a unity be seen at a glance, and so that the meaning of individual words will be known. If this is not fulfilled, then the explicit and implicit message will not be captured or understood, and the reading process will not be carried out properly. A process that demands that groups of words that represent a group will be seen in a glance, and so that the meaning of individual words will be known. This study aims to describe the language skills of Uswatun Hasanah Middle School students in Buru Regency. The research location is in the Islamic boarding school of Uswatun hasanah Namlea. data and data sources namely students of class VII Uswatun hasanah. the method in this study is PTK or classroom action research. The results of the study showed that the language skills of the seventh grade junior high students were very prominent as evidenced by the assignment of language assignments, namely. Keywords: Reading, Uswatun hasanah, students, Buru

The Simple Views of Reading and Writing: Frameworks for Interpretation of the Woodcock–Johnson IV

2021 ◽  
pp. 073428292110233
Author(s):  
Jason R. Parkin
Keyword(s):  
Oral Language ◽  
Structural Equation ◽  
Task Demands ◽  
Written Expression ◽  
Equation Modeling ◽  
School Age ◽  
Specific Task ◽  
Reading And Writing ◽  
Technical Manual ◽  
Woodcock Johnson

The simple views of reading (SVRs) and writing (SVWs) reflect useful frameworks for the psychoeducational evaluation of literacy difficulties. They describe reading comprehension and written expression as the outcome of oral language, decoding, and transcription skills. Prior research has demonstrated that these components explain the vast majority of variance in comprehension and written expression. However, subtests’ specific task demands can influence the relationships among these components within the models. As a result, practitioners should know the degree to which various test batteries operationalize these frameworks. Using correlations from school-age participants provided in the technical manual, these analyses investigated the SVR and SVW within the Woodcock–Johnson IV battery through structural equation modeling. Results suggest that the battery’s measures conform to many of the expectations stemming from the SVR/SVW. However, its comprehension and written expression measures appear less language-influenced and more affected by decoding/spelling. Implications for psychoeducational practice are discussed.

Written Expression in Boys with Attention Deficit Disorder

1994 ◽  
Vol 79 (3) ◽  
pp. 1131-1138 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Peter Resta ◽  
John Eliot
Keyword(s):  
Attention Deficit ◽  
Attention Deficit Disorder ◽  
Rating Scales ◽  
Language Assessment ◽  
Written Language ◽  
Attention Deficits ◽  
Written Expression ◽  
Visual Motor ◽  
Teachers And Parents ◽  
Bender Gestalt Test

32 boys, between the ages of 8 and 13 years, were identified on four teachers' and parents' rating scales (including the diagnostic criteria of the DSM-III for ADD) as showing attention deficits and hyperactivity (ADD + H; n = 10), attention deficits without hyperactivity (ADD - H; n = 11), or without ADD (attention deficits controls; n = 11). All subjects were administered Bender's Visual-motor Gestalt test and the Written Language Assessment. The ADD + H children produced significantly more errors on the Bender-Gestalt test, and both groups with attention deficits had lower (poorer) scores on most of the written language subtests. Results were interpreted as providing evidence that these children possessed significant limitations in their writing, copying, and composition.

The effects of the World Wide Web on reading and writing skills in a Spanish cultural studies courseLos efectos de la Web en la adquisición de destrezas lectoras y escritas en un curso de cultura hispana

ReCALL ◽  
2000 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 63-72 ◽  
Author(s):  
CARMEN CABOT
Keyword(s):  
Writing Skills ◽  
Written Language ◽  
Web Based ◽  
Reading And Writing ◽  
Spanish Speaking ◽  
South Wales ◽  
Effective Use ◽  
The University ◽  
Task Oriented ◽  
Target Culture

This paper presents the results of a study that demonstrates an effective use of the Web as a tool to increase motivation and thus promote reading and writing skills in Spanish as well as a deeper sense of the culture of the Spanish speaking world. In the study, thirty students of second year Spanish at the University of New South Wales were required to prepare an itinerary for a trip to a Spanish speaking country of their choice using the WWW as the only resource. In general our findings regarding improved language skills were consistent with the literature: an increase of vocabulary, more use of references, more student initiated interactions and greater interactivity in the classroom amongst students were observed. There was, however, one aspect, linguistic accuracy, in which improvement was not greatly noted. The data collected confirms that a task-oriented Web based course can increase the motivation of students, improve the scope of their reading, and enhance their perception of the target culture, all with a great effect on range of language explored, learned and re-processed, but a much lesser effect on the accuracy of written language produced.

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