Learning Disabilities

The student shall submit a current written diagnostic report of specific learning disabilities that is based on appropriate, comprehensive, psychoeducational evaluations that are no more than three years old, unless testing is done after 18 years of age. The assessment or evaluation which leads to the diagnosis must be administered by a trained and qualified (i.e., certified and/or licensed) professional (e.g., psychologist, school psychologist, neuropsychologist, or educational diagnostician) who has had direct experience with adolescents and adults with learning disabilities.

An appropriate psychoeducational evaluation must include comprehensive measures in each of the following areas

  • Academic achievement (the evaluation must contain a comprehensive achievement battery with all sub-tests and standard scores reported). The test battery should include current levels of functioning in the relevant areas, such as reading (decoding and comprehension), mathematics, and oral and written expression.
  • Aptitude (the evaluation must contain a complete intellectual assessment with all sub-tests and standard scores reported).
  • Information processing (the evaluation should assess specific information processing areas such as short- and long-term memory, sequential memory, auditory and visual perception/processing, processing speed, executive function, and motor ability).

Examples of Measures

Aptitude

  • Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-Revised (WAIS-R)
  • Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-Third Edition
  • Stanford Binet Intelligence Scale-Fourth Edition
  • Woodcock-Johnson Psycho-educational Battery-Revised: Tests of Cognitive Ability
  • Kaufman Adolescent and Adult Intelligence Test

Achievement

  • Wechsler Individual Achievement Tests (WIAT)
  • Woodcock-Johnson Psycho-educational Battery-Revised: Tests of Achievement (W-JR)
  • Stanford Test of Academic Skills (TASK)
  • Scholastic Abilities test for Adults (SATA)

Information Processing

  • Subtests of the WAIS-R or WAIS-Third Edition
  • Subtests on the Woodcock-Johnson Psycho-educational Battery-Revised: Tests of Cognitive Ability