Dyslexia in the Schools: Assessment and Identification

With an increasing awareness of dyslexia among parents and educators, it is crucial that teachers understand how to identify reading difficulties early, use data collected through the assessment process to make eligibility decisions, and link data to instruction. However, there is common confusion regarding identification procedures and the relation between processes and related assessments used for Specific Learning Disabilities (SLD) identification and those used for the identification of dyslexia (Tucker, 2015). Greater understanding of the law and of specific assessments that can be used for the identification of dyslexia can help school personnel see the connection between the criteria for SLD under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA, 2004) and dyslexia. This article provides a step-by-step guide on how an eligibility team might proceed through the eligibility process, which assessments are most appropriate to use and why, and most importantly, specific questions the eligibility team will need to answer in determining whether a student qualifies for services under IDEA.