Evolving standards of diagnostic accuracy in predicting and avoiding academic failure

Abstract

Since its first appearance in policy, the diagnostic construct of learning disability (LD) has struggled to demonstrate its validity. Any diagnostic construct requires the operationalization of a “true positive” diagnosis to permit strong analyses of diagnostic accuracy and associated intervention outcomes. Because there is no “true positive” definition for LD, diagnostic accuracy and outcome research are disparate and difficult to translate into meaningful actions for diagnosticians and intervention teams in schools. In this chapter, a new framework of decision making centered on consequential validity, evidence-based education, and shared decision making is proposed for evaluating the relative costs and benefits of alternative actions when making decisions about whether to conduct assessment or intervention, and what assessments or interventions to implement.

Citation

VanDerHeyden, A.M. (2011), "Evolving standards of diagnostic accuracy in predicting and avoiding academic failure", Scruggs, T.E. and Mastropieri, M.A. (Ed.) Assessment and Intervention (Advances in Learning and Behavioral Disabilities, Vol. 24), Emerald Group Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 59-78. https://doi.org/10.1108/S0735-004X(2011)0000024005