Educational Diagnosticians

Dr. Robin Codding tells us how we can test for math disabilities and drive instruction at the same time- the Evidence-Based way!1. Codding, R. S., Nelson, G., Kiss, A. J., Shin, J., Goodridge, A., & Hwang, J. (2025). A Meta-Analysis of the Relations Between Curriculum-Based Measures in Mathematics and Criterion Measures. School Psychology Review, 54(3), 275–290. https://doi.org/10.1080/2372966X.2023.22240552. Codding, R. S., Peltier, C., & Campbell, J. (2023). Introducing the Science of Math. TEACHING Exceptional Children, 56(1), 6-11. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/epub/10.1177/004005992211217213. VanderHeyden, A. M., Codding, R. S. Belief-Based Versus Evidence-Based Math Assessment and Instruction: What School Psychologists Need to Know to Improve Student Outcomes By Amanda M. VanDerHeyden & Robin S. Codding (2021). The science of math: The importance of mastery measures and the quest for a general outcome measure. https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ1322824 4. https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED500486.pdf 5. https://ies.ed.gov/ncee/wwc/practiceguides6. https://www.thescienceofmath.com/7. https://intensiveintervention.org/

More concerning trends in the Texas special education populations. Dyslexia Identification: https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ1441293Trends In Rates: https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ1291402Texas Special Education Report: https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED677545.pdf

Eric Elias is a co-host of the School Psyched! Podcast, and was School Psychologist of the year this year. He shares the hot topics discussed at NASP this year, and we discuss his article: Muddled Measurement : https://www.researchgate.net/publication/350098337_Muddled_Measurement_A_Historical_Perspective_on_Questionable_Practices_in_School_Psychology's_Assessment_of_Learning_Disabilities#fullTextFileContentIf you want to follow the School Psyched podcast, you can join live discussions by going here: https://thetestingpsychologist.com/podcast-crossover-with-school-psyched-rebecca-comizio-rachael-donnelly-and-eric-elias/

In this episode, we talk about some trend in special education populations in Texas. We used reports from DeMatthews et al. (2025) as a springboard for our discussion.https://texaserc.utexas.edu/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Texas_Special_Ed_Report_4.4.2025.pdfhttps://tea.texas.gov/about-tea/news-and-multimedia/annual-reports/annual-report

Is there a time when something is not normal but it is also not a disability?Is there a time when something IS normal, but it is a disability?We tackle ideas about what it means to be disabled. It's not a simple as it seems.

Becki takes lists her top ten take away tips for the ways in which the new WJ V compares to previous versions of the test.

Nazzie discusses the new definition of Dyslexia as published by the International Dyslexia Association with listeners. The discussion includes a summary of her publication that attempts to analyze and critique the Texas guidance documents against evidence-based assessment practices. Here's a link to the article: https://www.etamu.edu/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/2025-Pater-Rov-Tagged.pdfIf you want to know more about the new definition of dyslexia, refer to the International Dyslexia Association.

Dr. Shanahan talks to us about how misinterpretations of reading theory by teachers may be limiting students' opportunities to develop literacy skills at higher levels. He's concerned about what happens after teacher help kids crack the code.Here's a link for purchasing Dr. Shanahan's book: Leveled Readers, Leveled Lives. Here's a link to Dr. Shanahan's blog.

Dr. Collins has recently become the president elect of the Counsel on Learning Disabilities. Her research is about teaching writing. She's a CALT, so she understands the challenges of teaching those with dyslexia. From writing instruction, to the importance of evidence and the CLD's stance on diagnosing learning disabilities, she has a lot to share. The future of the CLD is in good hands with Dr. Collins' leadership!Here's her article on writing interventions: https://drive.google.com/file/d/19APKoZI2tTqWz07Oe4QGdmUVmuZowecf/view?usp=sharing

Dr. Amy Rogers is concerned about the challenges of the small town school districts. We chat about what those challenges are and how we can be resourceful when the odd are not in the favor of the small town school district.

Remember when Texas had a cap on the number of special education students who could be in special education? Dr. Morgan is the one who helped expose the harm of the cap. Dr. Morgan and Hu work for University at Albany’s Institute for Social and Health Equity. Time after time, they find that if there are 2 kids with the same reading or math struggles, the mainstream white student will be more likely to get the services than the minority child of color. Check out their articles: https://drive.google.com/file/d/10xjzZu0o4LDXZhOFbJgGTZp1dqjVR1Sp/view?usp=drive_linkhttps://drive.google.com/file/d/16xqlFTquDhavfPu56RnwZ7uaeLhyPB4O/view?usp=sharing

Dr. Tammy Stephens joins to tell us about professional judgment's role in determining disability and how organizing our informal data can help to improve that judgment. She has a new program called BOSCO that does just that. Here's the websight:https://www.jotform.com/customer-stories/bosco/

What would special education look like if it didn't include high incidence disabilities? Are you a preservist or a transformist? This one talks about the vision of special education. It reviews a book by Thomas Hehir, the director of OSEP for six years during the reauthorization of IDEA. His book is available on Amazon. https://a.co/d/13IJxrg

In this episode, diagnosticians discuss the vision of Special Education as seen through the perspective of Dr. Thomas Hehir, author of: New Directions in Special Education: Eliminating Ableism in Policy and Practice. Dr. Hehir was the head of OSEP during the time leading up to the re-authorization of IDEA in 2004. He was also the chair of Harvard's Ed.D. Special Education program for 20 years before he passed away. The discussion helps us to understand why the vision of Special Education as communicated from a perspective of OSEPs responsibility towards civil rights is often conflicted with the vision of most practitioners who aim to preserve what is special about special education.

Clubhouse members gather to discuss the contributions of Lynn Fuchs in memory of her at the time of her passing. She passed away on May 7, 2025. He leaves behind her husband, Doug, son, and grandson, in addition to numerous mentees and research colleagues. Her memory will live on in her contributions to CBM development, reading and math interventions, and the RTI model of SLD assessment. Here are some research articles and book chapters that she is known for:https://academic.oup.com/minnesota-scholarship-online/book/29366/chapter-abstract/244323372?redirectedFrom=fulltexthttps://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.2307/1511189https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED459544https://ies.ed.gov/learn/blog/spotlighting-doug-and-lynn-fuchs-two-decades-innovation-special-education-research

Dr. Barbara Foorman, professor emeritus from Florida State University served on the National Reading Panel and is one of the most recognized researchers of reading. She joins to tell us about her latest study that compares using an evidence-based reading program and using a serious of various evidence-based interventions valid for specific skill development.Here are some links to references made in this event: The Relative Effectiveness of Two Approach to Early Literacy Intervention Grades K-2https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Wnqxs-rfSuKRbfSYDyyZG-6f1KcIaPXq/view?usp=drive_linkThe Role of Instruction in Learning to Read: Preventing Reading Failure in At-Risk Childrenhttps://drive.google.com/file/d/11u3dKyrZNqpXEUzOt7xfhSwsCPPg8o9B/view?usp=drive_linkInterventions Aimed at Improving Reading Success: An Evidence Based Approachhttps://drive.google.com/file/d/1Pq9vClozQBHqSqOApJSbNewDmuPHkuaq/view?usp=drive_linkCurriculum Guidelines: https://www.thereadingleague.org/compass/curriculum-decision-makers/What Informs Literacy Instruction in the Primary Grades: Chapter 9Foorman chap 9_What Informs Literacy Instruction in the Primary Grades_Guilford in press.pdfPowerPoint of Literacy:  Using Data to Inform Instructionhttps://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1eW1J2o70PmqWHoFgPz_VdwruiRLmdvio/edit?usp=drive_link&ouid=109793171636430085361&rtpof=true&sd=trueState Policy Levers: https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED615740.pdf

Amy Smith interviews Dr. Kathleen Pfannenstiel, from American Institutes of Research, about the evidence-based assessment of math. She talks the importance of independent research, the most common challenges for students with disabilities, and integrating CBM into our evaluations. She refers to several related resources listed below:Links: Math Podcast SeriesMath Fact Fluency Norms:https://www.rocketmath.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/Rocket_Math_2013_Fact_Fluency_Benchmarks.pdf?srsltid=AfmBOorlzO4zC94YkQGSpaQh4gAB65dggbSfU03AqyC6__OdCk22pv7hhttps://www.jimwrightonline.com/mixed_files/lansing_IL/_Lansing_IL_Aug_2013/5_CBA_Math_Computation_Directions.pdfWorksheet generator:https://www.math-aids.com/https://superkids.com/aweb/tools/math/#google_vignettehttps://math-drills.com/Supporting Mathematics Intervention in Elementary School (NCII website): https://intensiveintervention.org/resource/supporting-mathematics-intervention-elementary-school Infusing EBPs to Improve Middle School Math Instruction: https://mtss4success.org/blog/infusing-ebps-middle-school-math-instruction Lesson Plans to Support High-Quality Middle School Math Instruction: https://mtss4success.org/blog/lesson-plans-middle-school-math

Dr. Yell helps us to define "progress" as it has been described after Endrew F. v. Douglas County Schools (2017). Here's an article he wrote: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Fa_ZgzItiGYJ0AMqRSy-MGBE_TzfuXJr/view?usp=sharingHere are some books he wrote: https://a.co/d/8iKAo8Jhttps://a.co/d/8kBIyMd

A new, revised version of the Guidance for the Comprehensive Evaluation of SLD in Texas is now available. We will get a training on this from TEA. In the mean time, Candace, Nazzie, and some others on Clubhouse discuss their impressions. Candace goes over her Top 10 Takeaways from reading the document. Here's a link to her notes: https://docs.google.com/document/d/19ZC1daO72dx0h8NT5vrG0QwqJ3qRrHKKLgHZo1P8TKE/mobilebasic

Dr. Robin Peterson is one of the authors of Diagnosing Learning Disorders: From Science to Practice. This group of researchers proposed a Multi-Deficit Model of learning disabilities, and their research influenced the way we think about Dyslexia. Here's a link to her book:https://a.co/d/diWPuRoHere's a link to her research article: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1LChLzHx2K_t11XOgsbmFtV4i81erHDz-/view?usp=drive_link

Learning to use CBM has become a valuable skill. Michelle Hosp has made it easy by providing step by step guidance in her book: The ABC's of CBM. Here's a link to her book: https://www.guilford.com/books/The-ABCs-of-CBM/Hosp-Hosp-Howell/9781462524662?srsltid=AfmBOor87pNMcb5aSa0R5PqWD8NCZGYLimlMZEnKNHppdJJxPdUXQ-QnYou may also know her for her work with Renaissance Learning, an evidence-based assessment system listed on the NCII toolkit.

The Hasbrouck & Tindal (1992, 2006, 2017) norms revolutionized American education. These norms have helped us to understand the importance of reading fluency. https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED594994.pdfCheck out Dr. Hasbrouck's & Dr. Glaser's book: https://www.benchmarkeducation.com/y35121-reading-fluency-understand-25e2-2580-2593-assess-25e2-2580-2593-teach-professional-learni.htmlDr. Tindal's & Dr. Marston's book: Classroom Based Assessment: https://a.co/d/dT7oIom

Dr. Linda Siegel produced important research which helped her to illustrate that cognitive testing was not relevant to the diagnosis of dyslexia. She led the way to revisiting this finding when she edited a journal for the IDA asking for researchers to weigh in on IDA's definition of dyslexia. She's also well known for her books: Not Lazy, Not Stupid & Understanding Dyslexia and Other Learning Disabilities.Here's a journal article she wrote: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/002221948902200803

Nazzie Pater-Rov, Candace Vielma, and Zarvonia Gibbs chat with others in the Educational Diagnostician Clubhouse about proposed bills for this legislative session. Would more money be appropriated for special education? Would the Diagnostician profession fade away into school psychology? What is the future of our careers?

Candace Vielma talks with Jan Cook and Diane Burke about Reading by Design, a Texas approved dyslexia curriculum.

This episode is a follow up to a discussion we had on 2/4/2022. At the time Dr. Dehn was helping Mr. Romstad to norm this new test that evaluates the fluid reasoning of culturally and linguistically diverse learners without discrimination or bias. We did a follow up because the test is now normed and is available on Dr. Dehn's Schoolhouse Education Services website. Here's the website if you'd like to learn more. https://www.schoolhouseeducationalservices.com/assessment-of-nonverbal-contextual-reasoning-ancr/

Dr. Piltier drops in to help us out as we discuss the difference between an SLD in Basic Reading and Dyslexia. She says it's like saying H20 for water. Let's stop arguing about it and get to work helping kids learn to read!Thanks Dr. Frith for the suggestion to invite Dr. Piltier on to address this topic!

The science of reading requires us to assess morphology, but the tools for an assessment of morphology are less established than those of oral reading fluency and word reading. With the support of federal funding, Dr. Apel has created a test of morphology. Listen to what he has to say about it! Here's a link to his study: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Sqf6EVz29Xxm1pmbk0k7GXjMIS0N9BX-/view?usp=drive_link Here's a study as well: https://alliedhealth.ceconnection.com/files/UsingMultipleMeasuresofMorphologicalAwarenesstoAssessitsRelationtoReading-1360187360413.pdf

Some current professors and professors in training join to discuss features of various conferences for educational diagnosticians and dyslexia therapists. Some of the conferences discussed are TEDA, HuMat, the CLD, and the IDA.

Dr. Branton Shearer utilizes the Howard Gardner's theory of intelligence to help educators help students find their strengths. Helping children find their strengths is a great way to add a special touch to our FIEs and hack deficit thinking. As long as we are focused on deficits, that's all we will see. Everyone has something the world needs, and families are depending on us to help the world see how children with disabilities can add to our society once we help them identify and build their strengths. His test, the MIDAS, is not a personality test or a learning style test. It has much more utility and validity that those types of measures. For more information, see this website: https://miresearch.org/

Dr. Dombrowski joins to tell us about the low achievement model for identifying SLD and the criticisms he has for PSW methods. Here are some links to articles he has written: 1) A Systematic Review of the PSW Diagnostic Accuracy Evidence: Is it Time to Abandon PSW? 2) After the Demise of the Discrepancy: Proposed Learning Disabilities Diagnostic Criteria 3) Beyond the Rhetoric of Evidence Based Assessment: A Framework for Critical Thinking and Clinical Practice

The new team of Diagnostician Clubhouse reporters, Candace Vielma, Candace James, and Valencia Ashley join Nazzie to share various tidbits of information that is on their minds. Dr. Schultz joins to comment as well. Candace Vielma: Talks about a court case that found the school district liable when a dyslexia program was not implemented with fidelity. Candace James: Gives us a new diag tip for converting PDFs to word documents. Valencia Ashley: Tells us about the upcoming IDA conference. Nazzie Pater-Rov: Shares a review of the Sattler book.

Nazzie presents 3 sources that attempt to describe what constitutes Evidence Based Assessment. Amy Smith and Becky Robinson join in to comment. The 3 sources are: 1. Psycho-educational Assessment and Report Writing by Stefan Dombrowski. 2. Identifying and Teaching Students with Significant Reading Problems by (Vaughn & Fletcher, Winter 2020-2021) https://drive.google.com/file/d/1OUiZywTZkTS38OgRItggARaxE1XmWXf8/view?usp=drive_link 3. Evidence-Based Assessment of Learning Disabilities in Children and Adolescents (Fletcher et al., 2005) https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Z2djJn__14zeR3Ayy8iSaDbfcZ4UqkDE/view

Amy Smith, Candace Vielma, Lori Melton, and Zarvonia Gibbs pitch in to add commentary to Nazzie's summary of the FAQs of the the dyslexia handbook.

Texas yet again is starting the school year off with changes to the operating guidelines. The new moderators and Amy Smith, Region 10 representative charged with diagnostician continuing education, joins to talk about the changes. There's so much to talk about, that we are dividing it into two parts.

Dr. Julian Elliott joins to tell us about his new book: The Dyslexia Debate Revisited, co-authored with Elena Grigorenko from the University of Houston, this book gives a summary of the research in dyslexia and proposes that we use the term dyslexia to describe a persistent problem in basic reading skills rather than as a medical diagnosis.

Dr. Nancy Nelson leads the National Center on Improving Literacy to support states and districts to provide the information that leads to evidence-based practices and policies for improving literacy. Check out their website with this link. She and Nazzie talk about assessment for dyslexia, the prevalence of dyslexia, and how the role of the diagnostician is challenged by changes in the way we think about dyslexia.

Joe Torgesen and Richard Wagner, authors of the CTOPP II describe the challenges related to direct assessment of dyslexia and their proposal for using statistics to evaluate risk. Dr. Torgesen shared an article that summarizes the LD summit of 2001 that is mentioned in the discussion. Dr. Wagner also shared an article about the Constellation Model.

Nazzie provides a summary of the book: Identification of Learning Disabilities from Research to Practice, edited by Bradley, Danielson, and Hallahan (2001), which is a compilation of 9 white papers that resulted from the LD Summit of 2001 and led to the reauthorization of IDEA in 2004. She also shares a summary of email conversations with Jim Walsh regarding WBFWR (Way Behind For Whatever Reason), in an attempt to understand the context of his reference to that initialism.

Dr. Steve Elliott is one of the authors of the Social Skills Improvement System (SSIS). Check out free resources on his website: https://ssiscolab.com/. He also shares that https://developingchild.harvard.edu/ describes the impact of stress for young children. Elizabeth Shanley also joins to tell us about free training resources from Pearson related to the SSIS. Use this link to get to one of those presentations: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fujeO-QhMOA.

For how long do students need to be exposed to tier 1 instruction before an assessment is appropriate? What tools can we use to test children in kindergarten? What should we be looking for in our evaluations? These are all hard questions that diagnosticians on Clubhouse attempt to answer.

Dr. Romig shares the research behind validating the best CBM variables for reliably assessing writing. Use this link to read one of his journal articles summarizing the reliability of various variables of writing CBM. He also mentions the 6 +1 rubric for measuring writing that can be reached through this link.

Candace Vielma interviews Dr. Kilpatrick about how understanding how kids learn to read helps us to be better evaluators of reading. For a copy of Dr. Kilpatrick's book: Use this link. For his PAST test, use this link.

We all fear the day we have to defend our FIE in court, but Dr. Lackey helps us to keep perspective by giving us things to consider and be confident in our conclusions.

Nazzie summarizes for the group both proposals for items removed and added to the Texas Dyslexia handbook. Aimee Seaberry also adds a summary of the Dyslexia Academies expected to be provided by TEA. Others also joined to comment. Thanks to Lori Melton for offering the perspective of a dyslexia therapist as well. See this link for the text of the proposed handbook.

The "Specific" in Specific Learning Disability can be confusing. A number of articles attempt to address this topic. Diagnosticians on Clubhouse examine articles by Mather (2023), Pennington (2015), Wadsworth et al. (2010), and Peterson et al. (2021) are reviewed to explore this term.

Citing research in our FIEs can make us look more professional, help us learn about the research behind the assessments we choose, and support our interpretation with evidence. The tool mentioned in this episode can be accessed through this link. Check back by clicking on the link in the future for updates to the link.

Dr. Ysseldyke and Amanda VanDerHeyden share their vision for the role of evaluators in special education. Together they wrote the 14th edition of Assessment In Special and Inclusive Education, the go-to textbook on evidence based assessment practices. They call on evaluators to make a paradigm shift away from a focus on IQ tests and towards a focus on assessment of the basic academic skills. This is a MUST HEAR, if you haven't listened live, or even if you did, you will want to listen again. https://www.proedinc.com/Products/40006/assessment-in-special-and-inclusive-education14th-edition.aspx

Here's a link to Dr Rasinski's website where you can read more about his books: https://www.timrasinski.com/index.html He talks with us about his newest book, Artfully Teaching the Science of Reading. You can purchase the book here: https://www.routledge.com/Artfully-Teaching-the-Science-of-Reading/Young-Paige-Rasinski/p/book/9781032080864

We wonder why RTI doesn't really take place in schools. Maybe it's because people would rather discredit the system rather than commit to actual school improvement? How do we assess in the context of a system that uses RTI by name only? What are the discussions around how to diagnose learning disabilities?