Similarities among Diagnostic and Prescriptive Decisions Made by Reading Specialists and LD,Title 1,and Fourth-Grade Teachers

Abstract

This study was designed to compare the diagnostic and prescriptive decisions made by reading specialists, learning disabilities teachers, Title 1 teachers, and classroom teachers about a child experiencing difficulty in reading. The subjects' responses were recorded on a questionnaire and then analyzed for similarity to determine whether or not they identified similar reading skill weaknesses and instructional needs of the child, and whether or not they prescribed similar reading programs for the remediation of the skill weaknesses. Results were that the subjects made very similar diagnostic and prescriptive decisions with the exception of establishing the child's instructional reading level. In this case, the reading specialists and LD and Title 1 teachers tended to recommend easier instructional materials for the child than the classroom teachers recommended.

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

1. Baker, F ., Hubert, L. , & Schultz, J. Quadratic Assignment Program: Q/AP. Unpublished manuscript, University of Wisconsin Laboratory of Experimental Design, 1977.

2. Dixon, W. , & Brown, M. (Eds.) BMDP-77 Biomedical Computer Program P-Series. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1977.

3. Gil, D. The clinical problem-solving behavior of classroom teachers as they diagnose a child's reading performance in experimental and classroom situations. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, Michigan State University, 1979.

4. Johnson, D. Johnson Basic Sight Vocabulary Test. Lexington: Ginn and Company, 1976.

5. Spache, G. Diagnostic Reading Scales (rev. ed). Monterey: CTB/McGraw-Hill, 1972.

6. Van Roekel, J. The problem-solving behavior of teachers trained in reading and teachers trained in learning disabilities when diagnosing simulated cases of educational difficulty in a clinical setting. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, Michigan State University, 1979.

7. Weinshank, A. The relationship between diagnosis and remediation in reading: A pilot study (Tech. Rep. 37). East Lansing: Michigan State University, The Institute for Research on Teaching, 1978.

8. Woodcock, R. Woodcock Reading Mastery Tests, Form A. Circle Pines, Minn.: American Guidance Service, Inc., 1973.