KENTUCKY COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS SCHOOL PSYCHOLOGICAL SERVICES INTEGRATED ASSESSMENT REPORT RIVERVIEW, KENTUCKY 40000-2212 Oc January 31, 2012 NAME: SCHOOL: PARENT(S): ADDRESS: TELEPHONE: Newstatt, Candace Westside Elementary Cindy Newstatt 2232 South 3rd Street #14, 40000 412-3232 Evaluation Procedures Record Review Child Developmental History Parent Interview Teacher Interview Intelligence Test Achievement Test Behavioral Observations Communication Adaptive Behavior STUDENT ID#: RACE/GENDER: DATE OF BIRTH: C.A.: GRADE: YEARS IN SCHOOL: Person Responsible E. Maupin school psychologist C. Newstatt, mother E. Maupin, school psychologist E. Maupin, school psychologist E. Maupin, school psychologist H. Sowell, consulting teacher G. Dorchester, counselor H. Sowell, consulting teacher S. Jackson, speech/language pathologist R. Powell, teacher 122033 W/F 07/15/2003 8-4 3 5 Date 12/1/2011 12/2/2011 12/5/2011 12/9/2011 1/9/2012 1/13/2012 1/6/2012 1/12/2012 1/20/2012 1/23/2012 REASON FOR REFERRAL Candace was referred for a multidisciplinary assessment by her third-grade teacher, Ms. Rachel Powell. The referral noted concerns about academic performance, cognitive functioning, communication functioning, and study/work skills. Assessment data will be used to assist in determining if Candace meets eligibility criteria as a student with a Mild Mental Disability (MMD). In addition, assessment data will provide assistance and support to teaching personnel in their educational planning. ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS The Child Developmental History form was completed by Ms. Cindy Newstatt, Candace’s mother, on December 2, 2011. In addition, an interview was conducted by the school psychologist, Ms. Eleanor Maupin, on December 5, 2011, to review the Child Developmental History and to gather some additional information from Ms. Newstatt. Candace is an 8-year-old child who resides with her mother, brothers (ages 10 and 20), sister-in-law (age 16), and niece (age 9 months). Candace’s sister-in-law assists her with homework. Ms. Newstatt indicated that Candace was born at 39 weeks gestation and was delivered by cesarean section because she was in the breech position. Candace was reportedly a healthy baby. Candace met developmental milestones related to sitting, walking, and talking within developmentally appropriate NEWSTATT, Candace Page 2 time frames but was late to be toilet trained. A family history of mental health, behavioral, or learning problems was not reported. Within the past 12 months, Candace’s family has experienced one stressful event that included the addition of a family member, the birth of a niece. At home, Candace plays outside, plays with toys or non-electronic games, and watches television. In the community, she visits the library and zoos or parks. Candace is described as a sweet and timid child. Ms. Newstatt is concerned about Candace’s lack of interest in socializing with other children and her academic difficulties. With regard to educational history, Candace did not attend preschool. Candace attended the majority of kindergarten at Hilltop Elementary in Kentucky County. The family moved to Illinois, where Candace repeated kindergarten due to a lack of mastery of pre-academic skills. Candace attended two different schools in Illinois for Kindergarten, first and second grades. The family returned to Kentucky County where Candace is enrolled at Westside Elementary as a third grader. Candace’s report card from second and third grade indicated that she earned needs improvement or unsatisfactory marks in reading, writing, and math. Candace’s third-grade teacher, Ms. Rachel Powell, completed a Teacher Information Sheet that indicated the following concerns: well below grade level performance in reading, math, and writing; presently reading at a kindergarten level; difficulty working independently; difficulty answering comprehension questions; rarely speaking; and difficulty comprehending whole group instruction. Candace is able to copy from the board and complete basic/single-digit addition problems. Work samples were provided and are available for review by the Admissions and Release Committee (ARC). Prereferral interventions strategies (Response to Intervention Program) were implemented by school personnel in an attempt to improve performance in reading, math, written language and receptive/expressive language. Candace participated in Tier II and Tier III math interventions consisted of direct instruction using manipulatives for counting, cardinality (number order), joining and separating objects. Weaknesses in retention and generalization impacted Candace’s progress. Following a total of ten weeks of intervention, Candace was able to count objects 1-20 (100%), recognize written numerals 1-20 (80%) and adding sets 1-10 using manipulatives or her fingers (no regrouping - 80%). She made limited progress when subtracting sets (numbers 1-10) using manipulatives (no regrouping - 60%). Further she demonstrated limited understanding of math concepts (attributes of less than, greater than, equal to 0%). In the area of reading, Candace participated in Earobics, a multi-sensory, multi-media, individualized reading program consisting of computer based activities, manipulatives, read aloud and comprehension instruction. The intervention addresses the following areas: phonological awareness, phonics, vocabulary building, fluency and comprehension. Candace made progress in Tier II intervention, however the gap between her performance and grade peers continued to widen. Thus the frequency of the intervention was increased to daily 40-minute sessions. Following 10 weeks of Tier II and Tier III intervention, Candace increased three levels within the Earobics program. Given the Developmental Reading assessment on August 26, 2011 and again on November 10, 2011, Candace progressed from Level A to Level 2 (Kindergarten range). Candace mastered letter recognition of upper and lower case letters (90%). Emerging skills include letter/sound correspondence (65%) and recognition of consonant/vowel/consonant words if presented in word family format (mat, cat, fat, sat - 62%) and identification of high frequency sight word (Dolch words - 42% Level K). Following multiple exposures to an instructional level passage, Candace reads 50 words with 18 miscues and answers NEWSTATT, Candace Page 3 comprehension questions (literal questions at 70% including main idea and key details, retell story), and (inferential questions at 45% including making prediction, making connections between events, characters, ideas). Following a read aloud of a grade level text (e.g., literature, science, social studies), Candace does not volunteer during class discussion of the text. If called upon, she answers factual questions (30% e.g., main character, setting ) and inferential questions (0% e.g., point of view, moral, theme, cause/effect. In the area of written language, for Tier II intervention, Candace received direct instruction in writing production and conventions Standard English. The teacher use Handwriting Without Tears, a multi sensory program for letter formation to understand the shape and construction of letters. She used visual supports, highlighted text, and color coding to reinforce letter production. In four weeks of intervention, Candace mastered the production of upper case (85%) and lower case letters (90%) when presented with an alphabet strip at her desk. When the alphabet strip was removed from her desk, performance decreased and then gradually improved (upper case 80%, lower case 80%). Candace copied single syllable words (70%) and she progressed to copying a sentence using capital letter and end punctuation (40%). Candace participated in six weeks of Tier III intervention in Fundamentals of the Sentence Writing Strategy which is a direct instruction program using visuals, cue cards, teacher modeling and mastery learning. Candace categorized familiar nouns with picture prompts (person, place, thing) in her personal word bank at 80%, acted out familiar action verbs (e.g., jump, sit, stand 80%) and constructed sentences using sentence strips with familiar vocabulary and picture prompts (75%). Candace was unable to produce a simple sentence independently. During grade level writing prompts, Candace drew simple pictures and wrote letter combinations (word attempts). With prompts, Candace described the picture and with teacher assistance, Candace dictated simple sentences. Candace participated in a Tier II and Tier III direct instruction language intervention entitled Language for Learning. The intervention consisted of multi-sensory presentation of vocabulary, word forms, sentence forms, word relationships to improve language skills. Given ten weeks of intervention, Candace made limited progress in three skill areas: following oral teacher directions (20%), responding to wh questions (who, where, when 40% - 60%, what, why 10-40%), and sorting objects by category (40%). Retention of skills from week to week was poor. ASSESSMENT RESULTS A graphic representation of the data and specific test scores are found in the last section. Physical Functioning On the Child Developmental History form, Ms. Newstatt described Candace’s general health as fair. She indicated that Candace has allergies to grass and pollen and has asthma. Candace is prescribed Albuterol (an inhaler) for asthma. In addition, Candace is prescribed eyeglasses that she wears consistently. School records indicated that Candace passed a hearing screening in December 2011. Cognitive Functioning Prior to the assessment, Candace transitioned easily from her classroom to the testing room. Candace presented as a quiet but cooperative child. For example, she spoke minimally and in a very soft tone of voice. At times, Candace’s speech was difficult to understand and the examiner often asked her to repeat phrases. Candace willingly participated in the assessment process. She wore eyeglasses. At times, she hesitated and tended to look for reassurance from the examiner. During the testing process, Candace NEWSTATT, Candace Page 4 demonstrated an appropriate level of attention and put forth good effort. The results of this testing are believed to be a valid and reliable estimate of Candace’s current cognitive functioning. Candace was administered the Kaufman Assessment Battery for Children, Second Edition (KABC-II). The KABC-II is an individually administered, norm-referenced task that measures cognitive abilities for children ages 3 to 18 using a variety of verbal and visual-motor problem-solving tasks. Due to referral concerns related to suspected language deficits, Candace was given the Luria Model of the KABC-II. The Mental Processing Index (MPI) summarized Candace’s overall performance on the test battery. Candace obtained a well below average range MPI score of 65, which corresponded to a percentile rank of 1. This means that Candace scored as well as or better than 1 out of 100 children her age taking the test. When considering the band of error that naturally accompanies any standardized test score, there is a 95 percent probability that the range of scores 60 to 72 will include Candace’s actual IQ score. The KABC-II is further divided into processing subscales, which can provide valuable information on how a child processes different types of information. The Sequential Processing Scale measures a student’s ability to solve problems, relying on successive processing, which emphasizes the sequential order of stimuli. A child is presented with a set of stimuli and must reproduce the stimuli in the exact order presented. Candace’s overall performance in this area was in the well below average range (standard score = 66). Candace’s performance on the Simultaneous Processing Scale was in the average range (standard score = 87). The Simultaneous Processing Scale requires a student to spatially integrate stimuli, which is needed to solve problems with maximum efficiency. The input has to be synthesized simultaneously, such that the separate stimuli are integrated into a group or conceptualized as a whole. The child is presented with a problem that includes visual stimuli (often complex) and requires some type of spatial manipulation and nonverbal reasoning to solve correctly. Candace demonstrated well below average range skills on the Learning Scale, with a standard score of 64. The Learning Scale of the KABC-II addresses an individual’s ability to store and retrieve newly or previously learned information. The Planning Scale involves having a student solve a novel nonverbal problem which is designed to be reflective of the different types of problems taught in school, and must use verbally mediated reasoning to figure out the answer. Planning ability requires hypothesis generation, revising one’s plan of action, monitoring and evaluating the best hypothesis for a given problem (decision making), flexibility, and impulse control. Candace’s performance on this scale was not interpretable due to a significant difference among subtest scores. Academic Performance The Kaufman Test of Educational Achievement, Second Edition (KTEA-II), Comprehensive Form was administered and scored by Ms. Hannah Sowell, consulting teacher. The KTEA-II is an individually administered, norm-referenced test of academic achievement. Letter-word recognition requires the student to identify letters and to pronounce words of gradually increasing difficulty. Most words are irregular to ensure that the subtest measures word recognition more than decoding ability. The Reading Comprehension subtest requires the student to read a word NEWSTATT, Candace Page 5 and point to its corresponding picture. The student reads a simple printed instruction and responds by performing the action. With more difficult items, the student reads passages of increasing difficulty and answers literal or inferential questions about them. Candace’s letter-word recognition skills were in the well below average range (standard score = 66), and her reading comprehension skills were also in the well below average range (standard score = 68). A qualitative review of letter-word recognition items indicated that Candace was able to identify upper and lower case letters. She had difficulty identifying sounds of letters and reading basic sight works (in, did, have). A qualitative review of reading comprehension items indicated that Candace had significant difficulty matching pictures to basic sight words and reading sentences. The Math Computation subtest requires a student to write solutions to math problems printed in a response booklet, including problems with addition, subtraction, and for older children, multiplication, division, fractions, and decimals. The Math Concepts and Applications subtest requires a student to respond orally to test items that focus on the application of mathematical principles to real-life situations. Skill categories include number concepts, operation concepts, time and money, and measurement. Candace’s math computation skills were in the well below average range (standard score = 78), and her math concepts and application skills were also in the well below average range (standard score = 77). A qualitative review of math computation items indicated that Candace was able to complete one-digit addition problems. She was unable to complete one-digit subtraction problems. She understood some problems that included number concepts and basic graphs. Within the Written Expression subtest, students Candace’s age are asked to complete writing tasks in the context of an age-appropriate storybook format. Tasks at those levels include writing sentences from dictation, adding punctuation and capitalization, filling in missing words, and writing a letter that summarizes the story. Candace’s performance in this area was in the well below average range (standard score = 40). Candace’s performance on the Spelling subtest was also in the well below average range (standard score = 71). A qualitative review of written expression items indicated that Candace was able to write her first name appropriately and recognize upper and lowercase letters. She had difficulty writing simple words, applying capitalization and punctuation rules, and writing sentences. Behavioral Observations On January 6, 2012, Candace was observed by Ms. Georgiana Dorchester, counselor, for 30 minutes in her general education classroom. During the observation, students participated in a math lesson about rounding place values to the nearest 10 and 100. Candace sat at her desk and quietly looked about the room as the teacher showed examples on the Smartboard. When the teacher asked the class to round 799 to the nearest 10, Candace copied the question and then sat unsure as if waiting for the student next to her to complete his answer. She did the same thing for the next question, 681 rounded to the nearest 10. It appeared as if Candace did not know what to do despite the teacher showing a few examples on the Smartboard. As the students worked on finding the answer to the second question, the teacher tried to assist Candace. She pointed to 681 and asked Candace to say the number but she was unable to do so. In trying to prompt her to say the number, the teacher held up eight fingers and told her to count by tens. Candace replied 10, 11, instead of 10, 20. The teacher had to use many prompts to get Candace to say the number 681. The teacher showed her 324 and asked the same question. She said three hundred but again needed prompts to say the 24. The teacher again said that the 2 was in the tens spot but Candace was still not able to say the number sentence. Candace was able to transfer the answers from the NEWSTATT, Candace Page 6 Smartboard once the teacher wrote the answers but seemed to not have any idea how to go about answering the questions on her own. On January 12, 2012, Candace was observed by Ms. Hannah Sowell, consulting teacher, for 30 minutes during a guided reading lesson. During the observation, Candace sat at a table with four other students as the teacher reviewed the unfamiliar words that were in the day’s story (Candace’s instructional level). The teacher said each word and asked the students to repeat after her. Candace would move her lips to give the appearance that she was actually saying the words but she was not. Next, the teacher went around the table asking each student to say one of the words. When it was Candace’s turn to say ‘come’, she needed prompts to sound out most of the letters. This happened again when Candace had to sound out ‘flying’, this time the teacher had to help her sound out f/l/y/ and the ‘ing’ chunk. After sounding out f/l/y and ing Candace still needed help putting it all together to say the word. The teacher then asked the students to get their books to read the story Flying is Fun. She next told the students to turn to page 63 and Candace and another student needed help finding the page. Candace appeared to be following along in the book by using a piece of paper to guide her as the students read. When it was her turn to read, she needed help with several words in the sentence. When asked to read with the group, Candace moved her lips and gave the appearance that she was reading. Communication Functioning Candace was referred for a language evaluation by her classroom teacher, Ms. Rachel Powell, due to concerns regarding her auditory comprehension and oral expression in the classroom environment. Results of standardized and non-standardized assessments indicate a severe language disorder. Candace demonstrated a strength in identifying word relationships by pointing to pictures. Testing revealed severe deficits in the following areas: following directions, sentence comprehension, use of various grammatical structures, memory for language (recalling sentences subtest), sentence formulation, and expressive vocabulary. Non-standardized testing revealed that Candace has challenges with knowledge of basic concepts, answering “wh” questions, labeling categories, sequencing 3-step picture events, formulating simple sentences, and using age-appropriate word structures in her conversational speech. Candace was cooperative during the testing situation and the results of the assessment are felt to be an accurate estimate of her language abilities. Teacher interviews confirm the presence of a severe language disorder that negatively affects Candace’s ability to comprehend classroom instruction, follow directions, answer “wh” questions posed by the teacher, and formulate sentences in her oral speech and written work. Social and Emotional Competence The Vineland-II Adaptive Behavior Scales: Teacher Rating Form was completed by Candace’s teacher, Ms. Rachel Powell, in order to obtain her perceptions of Candace’s independent skills in the areas of communication, daily living skills, and socialization skills. Ms. Powell rated Candace’s overall adaptive behavior in the well below average range (Adaptive Behavior Composite = 61) when compared to sameage peers. Candace’s communication skills, which include receptive, expressive, and written skills, were in the well below average range (Communication = 54). Candace appeared to be able to state her correct age and copy her name. In contrast, she had difficulty telling about her experiences and asking questions. For Candace’s personal, domestic, and community functioning, she appeared to be in the well below average range (Daily Living Skills = 62). Candace appeared to be able to say numbers in a NEWSTATT, Candace Page 7 sequence and follow simple rules. In contrast, she had difficulty saying the days of the week, saying the current month, telling time, and staying on task without seeking the teacher’s approval. Candace’s socialization skills, which include personal, domestic, and community functioning, were in the well below average range (Socialization = 72). Candace appeared to be able to play with others and share. In contrast, Candace had difficulty expressing emotions and talking to others about shared interests. Interviews were conducted with Candace’s mother and teacher to obtain additional information about her adaptive behavior. In the home setting, Ms. Newstatt indicated that Candace speaks softly and minimally. She often stays very close to her mother and is dependent on her mother for basic tasks such as selecting her clothing and tying her shoes. Candace does not show an interest in playing with similarage peers. Candace tends to not want to complete chores. She has difficulty remembering information such as telephone numbers and directions for homework. At school, Candace speaks minimally and is hesitant to respond to questions. She has difficulty understanding directions. Even with assistance from the teacher, Candace struggles to understand concepts and complete work. Most of the papers that Candace turns in are blank. ASSESSMENT SUMMARY Candace is an eight-year-old-child who attends third grade at Westside Elementary. Candace was referred for a multidisciplinary assessment due to concerns with academic performance, cognitive functioning, communication functioning, and study/work skills. The purpose of the evaluation is to determine if Candace meets eligibility criteria as a student with a Mild Mental Disability (MMD) and to assist in planning for Candace’s educational needs. Results of this evaluation indicated that Candace performed in the well below average range in general cognitive ability, and the well below average range in adaptive behavior skills. Candace achieved at the well below average range in letter word identification, reading comprehension, and written expression. She achieved in the below average range in math concepts/applications and computation. Classroom observations indicated that Candace had difficulty understanding reading and math tasks, even with added explanation and support. A communication assessment indicated that Candace exhibited a severe language disorder. It is important to review all information collected for this assessment report. Candace scored in the well below average range on cognitive, adaptive, and academic measures. Other factors reported may have impacted Candace’s performance on standardized instruments and in the classroom. Factors include Candace’s lack of participation in preschool, history of poor school attendance, and multiple school placements. These factors in addition to standardized test scores should be discussed at the ARC meeting. The committee should consider that the information gathered in this report is one component of the total material to be discussed by the Admissions and Release Committee (ARC). Members of the committee must consider all relevant data presented at the meeting before making a final placement decision. SUGGESTED EDUCATIONAL STRATEGIES 1. Reinforce word attack and phonic skills with emphasis on medial sounds and word patterns. Activities that require Candace to match initial consonants with ending sounds would be beneficial. Increase sight word vocabulary and word meaning through use of word bingo and other games, flashcards, and puzzles. NEWSTATT, Candace Page 8 2. As basic sight words (such as those found on the Dolch Basic Sight Words Lists) make up such a large percentage of words found in reading materials, these words should be presented and reinforced heavily by the use of the language-experience approach, games, flashcards, wide reading of easy but valuable literature, tactile approaches, writing strategies, and activity sheets. 3. The single most important way to develop and improve reading ability is to have Candace read interesting, self-selected good literature on her independent or low instructional reading level. Encourage Candace to check out books from the library to read for pleasure. 4. To improve reading comprehension, provide practice in using picture and context clues, recalling factual details, identifying the main idea, sequencing events, drawing conclusions, making inferences, and predicting outcomes. Develop reading vocabulary skills involving synonyms and antonyms, and improve classification and generalization abilities. 5. Continue to work on computation skills. The use of manipulatives may be especially helpful for Candace as, when using her fingers, she does not know what to do when she deals with numbers above five. For interest, consider varying the manipulative objects used (buttons, beans, checkers, etc.). Gradually move into semi-concrete, varying the graphic representations (tallies, circles, etc.) to provide more interest. Finally, with abstract activities, vary the format (presented verbally, presented horizontally, presented vertically, etc.). 6. Some strategies to try to improve memory are as follows: a. Try to make the material to be learned significant and relevant to Candace. b. Give meaning to rote data to enhance comprehension and learning. c. Regularly summarize information as it is being taught. d. Give multisensory presentations. e. Reinforce information presented with pictures or other visual images. f. Control the amount of information presented at one time. g. Use overlapping techniques, such as repetition and rehearsal. h. Have Candace overlearn material. i. Couple new information with previously learned information. j. Teach Candace to use one or more of the following techniques: visual imagery, “chunking” techniques (organizing information into easily retrieved segments), association techniques, and mnemonic devices, such as acronyms, repetition and rehearsal techniques. NEWSTATT, Candace Report prepared by: Eleanor X. Maup School Psychologist Office: (502) 786-7777 E-mail address: eleanor.maupin@kentucky.kyschools.us Page 9 NEWSTATT, Candace Page 10 GRAPHIC REPRESENTATION Well Below Average Percentile Rank Standard Score 0.1 55 Below Average 2 70 16 85 CURRENT TESTING: KABC-II MPI ---------------------X Sequential ---------------X Simultaneous ---------------------------X Learning ----------------X KTEA-II Ltr and Word Recog -------X Reading Compr -------------X Math C/A ------------------------X Math Computation -----------------X Written Express --<X Spelling --------------------X VINELAND-II (TEACHER) Composite -------------X Communication -----X Daily Living Skills ---X Socialization ----------------X Average 50 100 Above Average 84 115 98 130 Well Above Average 99.9 145 NEWSTATT, Candace Page 11 CURRENT TEST SCORES All summary scores are presented in standard scores or converted standard scores. The average is 85-115 unless otherwise noted. Most subtests within an instrument are reported in scaled scores where the average is 7-13. KAUFMAN ASSESSMENT BATTERY FOR CHILDREN, SECOND EDITION (KABC-II) Model: Luria ages 7-18 A measure of cognitive abilities which assesses a student’s problem-solving processing styles and acquired basic skills. Global Scale Mental Processing Index Scale Sequential Simultaneous Learning Planning Standard Score 65±3 66±5 87±5 64±4 * Bold denotes core subtests. Subtest Sequential Number Recall Word Order Simultaneous Rover Triangles Learning Atlantis Rebus Planning Story Completion Pattern Reasoning Scaled Score 4 4 7 9 4 3 1 8 *not interpretable due to significant difference between subtest scores NEWSTATT, Candace Page 12 KAUFMAN TEST OF EDUCATIONAL ACHIEVEMENT, SECOND EDITION (KTEA-II) COMPREHENSIVE FORM A measure of basic academic skills Reading Composite Letter and Word Recognition Reading Comprehension Math Composite Math Concepts and Applications Math Computation Written Language Composite Written Expression Spelling Standard Score 66±3 66±3 68±4 74±3 77±4 78±4 56±4 40±6 71±4 VINELAND ADAPTIVE BEHAVIOR SCALES: SECOND EDITION, TEACHER RATING FORM A measure of an individual’s performance of personal and social sufficiency for student in a structured school setting. Subdomain scores are reported as V-scores. V-scores between 12 and 17 are in the average range. Respondent: R. Powell, teacher Adaptive Behavior Composite: 61±2 Domain Communication Receptive Expressive Written Standard Score 54 V-Scale Score 7 7 8 Daily Living Skills Personal Academic School Community 62 Socialization Interpersonal Relationships Play and Leisure Time Coping Skills 72 12 6 8 8 13 9