Journal of Psychoeducational Assessment

The 2009 Forest Grove School District v. T.A. United States Supreme Court case could have significant implications for school psychology practice. The Court ruled that the parents of a student with a disability were entitled to private school tuition reimbursement even though T.A. had not been identified with a disability or previously provided with special education services. The district multidisciplinary team had not identified T.A.’s disability in part because of a limited psychoeducational evaluation that did not assess him in “all areas of suspected disability” which is a requirement of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA; 20 U.S.C. § 1414(b)(3)(B)). Dissatisfied with the team’s decision, the parents sought an independent comprehensive evaluation of T.A.’s psychological processes which revealed the full nature of his disability and needs. Although T.A. had been unresponsive to interventions in his home school, this comprehensive psychoeducational evaluation led to more targeted interventions in his private school placement and likely contributed to T.A.’s subsequent academic and behavioral success. This Supreme Court case highlights the need for school-based teams to conduct comprehensive evaluations in all areas of suspected disability, including psychological processes such as attention, memory, and executive function. The relevant IDEA 2004 and governing 2006 federal regulations are presented, followed by recommendations for school psychologist assessment practices to ensure compliance with IDEA statutory and regulatory requirements.

The relationship between direct and indirect measurements of social skills and social problem behaviors for preschool children at risk for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) was examined. Participants included 137 preschool children, aged 3 to 5 years, at risk for ADHD, who were participating in a larger study examining the effects of early intervention for young children. Teachers rated the social skills and social problems of the participants. Direct observation data of participants were also collected at preschool during free play. Results support previous research on social skills assessment and suggest that indirect and direct measures may not be measuring the same aspect of social skills. Thus, a variety of evaluation tools are necessary to comprehensively assess the social skills of preschool children with social challenges.

The Flynn effect, a secular rise in IQ seen throughout the world, was examined on the WISC-R and WISC-III subtests in a longitudinal sample of more than 2,500 school children who were tested between 1974 and 2002. Multivariate analysis of variance and multiple regression analyses revealed that all the subtests experienced significant decreases in scores on the introduction of the WISC-III, as expected because of the Flynn effect, with the exception of Information and Digit Span. (Mazes was not included in the analyses because of a limited sample size.) On Picture Arrangement and Coding, however, children who were repeatedly tested on the WISC-III also experienced significant decreases compared with children who were repeatedly tested on the WISC-R. These findings add to the growing literature comparing the magnitude of the Flynn effect on crystallized versus fluid measures. Implications for special education testing and the current WISC-IV are discussed.

The purpose of this quasi-experimental study was to compare the cognitive performance of 11-to 14-year-old children with reading disabilities as a function of high (>85 reading standard score) and low (<85 reading standard score) response to intervention. Students were divided into high responders, low responders, and nonresponders after 3 years of instruction and compared on phonological, rapid naming, temporal, and executive processing measures. Although children designated as responders were statistically comparable with nonresponders at Year 1, significant differences in favor of high responders emerged on measures of phonological awareness, rapid naming, and temporal processing when compared with the other groups. All groups yielded below normal performance on measures of phonological awareness, planning, and verbal working memory. Overall the findings suggest that low responders and nonresponders suffer multiple deficits beyond the phonological system.

This article analyses the relationship between trait emotional intelligence and academic performance, controlling for the effects of IQ, personality, and self-concept dimensions. A sample of 290 preadolescents (11-12 years old) took part in the study. The instruments used were (a) Trait Emotional Intelligence Questionnaire—Adolescents Short Form (TEIQue-ASF); (b) Children’s Personality Questionnaire (CPQ; Form A, Part A); (c) IQ test TIDI-2; (d) Adaptation Questionnaire (CAI-1); and (e) academic performance. A positive and significant correlation coefficient between trait EI measured by the TEIQue-ASF and general academic performance was found. The TEIQue-ASF showed incremental validity to predict general academic performance, after controlling for intelligence, personality, and self-concept characteristics.

There is a clinical need for measurement of noncredible self-reporting of symptoms of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in adults presenting for ADHD evaluation. The present study describes the development of initial validity data for an Infrequency Index for the Conner’s Adult Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Rating Scale (CII). Items for the CII were obtained from a large sample of nontreatment seeking university students, including individuals with a self-reported history of ADHD diagnosis. Items endorsed infrequently in the sample, including those with ADHD diagnoses, were identified and summed to create the CII. Initial validation data were gathered from a sample of individuals seeking clinical evaluation for ADHD. The CII was strongly related to noncredibly high symptom report and was also related to noncredible performance on cognitive measures. Results provide initial support for the CII’s use in assessing noncredible overreporting on the Conner’s Adult Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Rating Scale.

Individually administered tests are often normed on small samples, a process that may result in irregularities within and across various age or grade distributions. Test users often smooth distributions guided by Thurstone assumptions (normality and linearity) to result in norms that adhere to assumptions made about how the data should look. Test users, however, may come across particular tests or sets of data in which the Thurstone assumptions are untenable. When users expect deviations from normality within age or grade, an alternate method is desirable. The authors present a relatively simple procedure that allows the user to treat observed raw scores as ordinal data with differently shaped sample distributions across age levels. Each age-level group is used twice to create new moving composite group distributions that replace (i.e., smooth) the original groups to reduce irregularities due to the small sample sizes. The authors present the results of a simulation study of the method, demonstrating that moving composite groups ameliorate error introduced by small samples beyond applying the normalized inverse to a score distribution. The method presented might satisfy those who question whether their data meet the strong assumptions of normality and interval-level measurement, and the simplicity might encourage smoothing by additional users.