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Procedures for assessing and identifying students with dyslexia are outlined in detail in Chapter II of The Dyslexia Handbook. These procedures guide districts on how the process should work. The information shared throughout the rest of the course will be taken from Chapter II of The Dyslexia Handbook.

Prior to a formal assessment for dyslexia, federal and state laws emphasize early identification and intervention for students who may be at risk for reading disabilities, such as dyslexia. The section, "Defining Dyslexia and Its Characteristics," covers a general overview of dyslexia. Familiarity with dyslexia and its related disorders may help us collect the information needed to make a recommendation for dyslexia assessment. The Dyslexia Handbook specifies that

Schools shall recommend assessment for dyslexia if the student demonstrates the following:

Poor performance in one or more areas of reading and spelling that is unexpected for the student’s age/grade.

Characteristics and risk factors of dyslexia indicated in Chapter I: Definitions and Characteristics of Dyslexia in The Dyslexia Handbook.

Take a moment to read about the different legislation that inform assessing for dyslexia in the State and Federal Laws interactive booklet below. 

State legislation states that school boards MUST ensure the following:

• Procedures for identifying a student with dyslexia or a related disorder are implemented in the district (TAC §74.28).
• Procedures for providing appropriate instructional services to the student are implemented in the district (TAC §74.28).
• The district or school complies with all applicable requirements of state educational programs (TEC §7.028).

School districts MUST do the following:

• Administer K–2 assessments (TEC §28.006).
• Provide early identification, intervention, and support (TEC §28.006).
• Apply results of early assessment instruments to instruction and report to the Commissioner of Education (TEC §28.006).
• Implement SBOE-approved procedures for students with dyslexia and related disorders (Dyslexia Handbook and TAC §74.28).
• Provide training about dyslexia to educators (TAC §74.28(c)) (TAC §232.11).
• Ensure that the procedures for identification and instruction are in place (TAC §74.28).
• Notify parents in writing before an assessment or identification procedure is used with an individual student (TAC §74.28).
• Test for dyslexia at appropriate times (TEC §38.003).
• Ensure that assessment for the purposes of accommodations does not occur until after current testing has been reviewed (TEC 38.003(b-1)).
• Meet the requirements of §504 when assessment for dyslexia is recommended (The Dyslexia Handbook).
• Provide treatment (instruction) for students with dyslexia (TEC §38.003).
• Purchase or develop programs that include descriptors listed in the Dyslexia Handbook (TAC §74.28).
• Inform parents of all services and options available to students eligible under §504 (TAC §74.28).
• Provide students with services of a teacher trained in dyslexia (TAC §74.28).
• Provide a parent education program (TAC §74.28).
• Report through Public Education Information Management System (PEIMS) information regarding the number of students enrolled in the district or school who are identified as having dyslexia (TEC §42.006(a-1)).

“Early identification is critical because the earlier the intervention, the easier it is to remediate.”

Hall and Moats (1999)

Texas Education Code (TEC) §28.006, Reading Diagnosis, requires assessment of reading development and comprehension for all students in kindergarten, first grade, second grade and, as appropriate, seventh grade.

The Dyslexia Handbook, p.15

Question 31 in The Dyslexia Handbook asks, “What factors must be considered by the §504 committee?”

The §504 committee first determines whether the student has dyslexia. In order to make an informed determination, the committee must be knowledgeable about the following:

• The student being assessed
• The reading process
• Dyslexia and related disorders
• Dyslexia instruction
• District, charter school, state, and federal guidelines for assessment
• The assessments used
• The meaning of the collected data

The §504 committee determines the identification of dyslexia after reviewing all accumulated data from the Data Gathering and Formal Assessment processes, including the following information:

• The observations of the teacher, district or charter school staff, and/or parents/guardians
• Data gathered from the classroom, including student work and the results of classroom measures, and information found in the student’s cumulative folder (including the developmental and academic history of the student)
• Data-based documentation of student progress during instruction/intervention
• The results of administered assessments
• Language Proficiency Assessment Committee (LPAC) documentation, when applicable
• All other accumulated data regarding the development of the student’s learning

The following factors must NOT be used as the sole reason to identify a student for a dyslexia program:

• The student’s primary language is not English
• The student has irregular attendance
• The student lacks experiential background
• The student has had a brain injury, disease, or surgery that interferes with learning

“Districts or charter schools must establish written procedures for assessing students for dyslexia within general education. The first step in the assessment process, data gathering, should be an integral part of the district’s or charter school’s process for any student exhibiting learning difficulties” (The Dyslexia Handbook, p. 16).

The whole picture of the student is important. The collection of data from multiple sources will assist with determining reading and spelling abilities and difficulties.

Environmental and Socioeconomic Factors

Language and literacy experiences may be affected by socioeconomic, environmental, and cultural factors. Just as it is important to determine that a student’s reading difficulties are not due to a lack of appropriate instruction, it is also important to determine that reading difficulties are not due to the student’s environmental and/or socioeconomic background. For example, the Dyslexia Handbook (page 17) explores the Hart and Risley (1995) study that found that three-year-old children from different socioeconomic backgrounds had varied cumulative vocabulary development.

Children from professional families had 1,100 words compared to children from lower socioeconomic levels who had as few as 500 words indicating home vocabulary experiences have an effect on young children’s language acquisition. Collecting data about environmental and socioeconomic factors helps determine whether a student’s reading struggles are due to dyslexia or a lack of opportunity.

Hart & Risley, 1995

As stated in the The Dyslexia Handbook, Procedures for Assessment, “the first step in the assessment process, data gathering, should be an integral part of the district’s or charter school’s process for any student exhibiting learning difficulties” (p. 16). Information for the dyslexia evaluation process will include the academic history of the student and other cumulative data demonstrating that the reading difficulties are not a result of a lack of appropriate reading instruction. Regardless, the data collected should include progress monitoring during appropriate reading instruction.

Figure 2.2 on page 17 in The Dyslexia Handbook lists various sources and examples of both informal and formal data that school districts and charter schools should collect. The cumulative folder should have data documenting instruction for a student who continues to struggle with reading. This information should include data that demonstrates that the student was provided appropriate instruction and include data-based documentation of repeated assessments of achievement at reasonable intervals (progress monitoring), reflecting formal assessment of student progress during instruction. This cumulative data also includes information from teachers and parents/guardians.

Informal data (qualitative) may come from observing the student’s reading performance and behaviors during testing, error analysis, or task demand analysis. Qualitative data may also include teacher checklists, classroom samples, and parent interviews.

Page 22 in The Dyslexia Handbook details the review and interpretation of data and assessments. Information about the student’s educational history, linguistic background, socioeconomic status, other pertinent factors that may affect the student’s learning should also be considered by the §504 and/or ARD committee members.

The §504 or ARD committee must first interpret the evaluation data in order to interpret it with consideration for all the factors that may affect learning (e.g., linguistic background or socioeconomic factors).

The evaluation process includes a preponderance of data, both qualitative (informal) and quantitative (formal). All the data is then interpreted by the §504 or ARD committee to determine if the student demonstrates a pattern of evidence for dyslexia.

On your own, locate key sentences in The Dyslexia Handbook that support how a preponderance of data can demonstrate a pattern of evidence for dyslexia.

Additional factors to be considered by the §504 or ARD committee include:

• the student’s linguistic background,
• previous effective instruction, and
• unexpected difficulties in relation to other abilities.

The Dyslexia Handbook further clarifies on page 23:

If the student’s difficulties are unexpected, in relation to other abilities, the committee (§504 or ARD) must then determine if the student has dyslexia. If the student has dyslexia, the committee also determines whether the student has a disability under §504. A student is disabled under §504 if the physical or mental impairment (dyslexia) substantially limits one or more major life activities, such as the specific activity of reading (34 C.F.R. §104.3(j)(1)). Additionally, the §504 committee, in determining whether a student has a disability that substantially limits the student in a major life activity (reading), must not consider the ameliorating effects of any mitigating measures that student is using. If the §504 committee does not identify dyslexia, but the student has another condition or disability that substantially limits the student, eligibility for §504 services related to the student’s other condition or disability should be considered. The §504 committee will also consider whether the student is eligible for accommodations. This is a separate determination from the determination that the student has dyslexia.