Susan Jacob

Ethical and legal issues associated with using response-to-intervention to assess learning disabilities ☆

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act of 2004 allows schools to use a childs response to research-based intervention (RTI) as a part of procedures to identify students with learning disabilities. This paper considers whether RTI-based assessment models meet ethical and legal standards for acceptable assessment practices. Based on a review of available research, it was concluded that RTI-based assessment practices, when carefully crafted and implemented, have the potential to be multifaceted, fair, valid, and useful. Threats to acceptable RTI-based assessment practices include: the lack of research-based interventions appropriate for diverse academic domains, ethnic groups, grades K-12, and students with limited English proficiency; uncertainty regarding how to determine when nonresponse to intervention warrants formal referral for evaluation of special education eligibility; difficulty translating scientifically sound RTI practices to the local school level; and inadequate staff training and poor treatment fidelity. Suggested directions for future research are included.

Adaptive Behavior in Children With CHARGE Syndrome

The “R” in the mnemonic “CHARGE” has historically stood for “Retardation of Growth and Development.” Early medical reports describing mental retardation in CHARGE syndrome have not used convincing means to assess this attribute. This article investigated the range of developmental ability in individuals with CHARGE as measured through an adaptive behavior scale, the Adaptive Behavior Evaluation Scale (ABES) [Carney ( 1995 ): The Adaptive Behavior Evaluation Scale home version technical manual‐revised. 126p.], over time. Parents of individuals with CHARGE syndrome were surveyed twice over a 4‐year time span (N = 100, 85) to obtain information about adaptive behavior and specific CHARGE characteristics. There was a significant decline in ABES scores over the 4‐year period. However, at Time two, one‐half of the children achieved a standard score above 70. Correlation and regression analyses at Time one and Time two revealed negative relationships between (a) age at walking, (b) degree of hearing impairment, (c) degree of visual impairment, and (d) medical involvement variables and the dependent variable, adaptive behavior. In both studies, age at walking was the best predictor of scores. Analysis of variance confirmed that medical involvement and degree of vision impairment were related to adaptive behavior scores because they were also related to age at walking. Age at walking and medical involvement at Time one were found to be significantly different between those who improved and declined in adaptive behavior scores over time. Adaptive behavior scores from both studies revealed a much broader and higher‐reaching range of ability for this population than has been previously reported in the literature.

Validity of the DIAL-R for Identifying Children with Special Education Needs and Predicting Early Reading Achievement

The validity of the DIAL-R for identifying special-needs children and predicting early achievement was investigated for 463 prekindergarten screening program participants. The DIAL-R was found to be useful for selecting children in need of follow-up services. A decision-to-refer rule based on one low DIAL-R area score was most satisfactory in identifying special-needs children (sensitivity = .57; specificity = .95). All children with more disabling educational handicaps and one-half of those with less severe impairments were identified. Findings supported the use of locally validated decision-to-refer rules and multiple cut-off scores (OK, monitor, refer). The correlation between DIAL-R and kindergarten Clymer-Barrett Readiness Test scores was r = .64 (p <.01); the correlation of the DIAL-R with first-grade Stanford Reading Test scores was .54 (p <.01). Consistent with findings for other screening instruments, results suggested that the DIAL-R has limited validity for predicting the achievement of individual children beyond kindergarten.

Chracteristics and Development of Children with CHARGE Association/Syndrome

CHARGE association/syndrome refers to a group of congenital anomalies occurring together more often than chance. Parents of children with CHARGE were surveyed and asked to indicate whether their child had various features commonly found among individuals with CHARGE (e.g., vision or hearing impairment) and to complete an adaptive behavior scale for their child. One hundred parents completed surveys. Adaptive behavior scores revealed a broader and higher-reaching range of development for this population than previously reported, with about half achieving normal range scores. Correlation analyses revealed negative relationships between (a) degree of deaf-blindness, (b) age at walking, (c) degree of hearing impairment, and (d) medical involvement variables and the dependent variable, adaptive behavior. Age at walking had the strongest relationship to adaptive behavior scores. Implications for future research and practice are discussed.

Creating Safe and Welcoming Schools for LGBT Students: Ethical and Legal Issues

This article addresses ethical and legal issues associated with creating safe and welcoming schools for lesbian, gay, biattractional, and transgender (LGBT) youth and for students who simply do not conform to gender-role stereotypes. Ethical principles and standards that create a responsibility for educators to foster a learning environment respectful of the worth and dignity of all students are discussed first. Law related to discrimination against and harassment of LGBT students is then summarized. Special attention is given to the controversy ignited by the U.S. Department of Educations 2010 interpretation of Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 that requires schools receiving federal funds to take steps to prevent bullying of students on the basis of sex, including harassment based on a students nonconformity to gender role expectations. Finally, implications of ethical principles and law for school district practices regarding LGBT students are identified.

The Accuracy of Teacher Predictions of Student Reward Preferences.

This study investigated the accuracy of teacher predictions of student reward preferences on the Childrens Reinforcement Survey Schedules. Student-participants were 49 5th and 6th graders. Correlation coefficients calculated for each student-teacher pair indicated that teachers were only moderately successful in selecting rein-forcers consistent with individual student self-selections. Teachers as a group predicted the reward preferences of students as a group with a high degree of accuracy, however. The correlation between teacher selections and the reward preferences of girls was higher than that between teacher selections and the preferences of boys as a group. Comparison of teacher and student choices suggested that teachers tended to overrate the popularity of certain classroom-related rewards. Findings suggest that students need to be involved in selecting their own rewards when planning behavioral interventions, and that for some students, particularly boys, rewards available outside the classroom may be most effective in changing behavior.

Cognitive, Perceptual, and Personal-Social Development of Prematurely Born Preschoolers

This study was designed to determine possible differences in the cognitive, perceptual, and personal-social development of prematurely and maturely born 3-yr.-olds which might foreshadow later learning problems. The subjects were 40 prematurely born graduates of a neonatal intensive care unit (birth weight < 2,500 gm, < 37 wk. gestation) matched on the pair-level with full-term controls on sex, race, post-conceptual age, and socioeconomic background. All subjects were singletons and parity was matched at the group level. No differences were found between the groups on tests of higher mental processes including the General Cognitive, Verbal, Quantitative, and Memory Scales of the McCarthy Scales of Childrens Abilities, and researcher-devised measures of problem-solving competence. No differences in parental reports of personal-social development were noted. Prematures did not perform as well as controls on perceptual performance tasks, and this difference was interpreted as reflecting relatively impaired visual-motor coordination.

Effects of Interaction Experiences and Undergraduate Coursework on Attitudes Toward Gay and Lesbian Issues

College experiences can expand knowledge, decrease negative stereotypes, and increase acceptance toward diversity, especially regarding gay and lesbian issues. This study found that the more interaction undergraduate students have with gay and lesbian people on campus, the more accepting their attitudes are regarding (1) same-sex, consensual sex, (2) same-sex relations between adults is not unnatural, (3) vote for a gay presidential candidate, (4) friends with a feminine man, (5) friends with a masculine woman, (6) knowledge of GL issues important for future career, and (7) comfortable with GL roommate. Furthermore, the more undergraduate students are exposed to coursework addressing gay and lesbian issues, the more positive their attitudes are regarding the importance of knowledge of gay/lesbian issues for future career and comfort with a gay/lesbian roommate. Discussion explores possible long-term implications of systematic interaction experiences and coursework at all levels within the educational system to prevent negative attitude formation.

Impact of Mentors During Adolescence on Outcomes Among Gay Young Adults.

ABSTRACT Using the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health and the Adolescent Health and Academic Achievement study datasets, this study examined whether natural mentoring relationships during adolescence were associated with young adult outcomes among lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) persons. Outcomes in three domains were investigated: education and employment, psychological wellbeing, and substance use and abuse. Results indicated that LGB persons reporting natural mentors during adolescence were about three times as likely to graduate from high school as those without. Discussion surrounds strategies to foster mentoring relationships within the school environment or community.

Ethics and Computer-Assisted Assessment: Three Case Studies.

Three ethical-legal case incidents involving computer-assisted psychodiagnostic assessment in the schools are presented. Each case incident is analysed in terms of applicable laws, ethical codes, and standards for professional practice.