Diagnostic Testing/IEP Development

IDEA 2004 Close Up: The Individualized Education (IEP) is a website that contains vital information pertaining to the Individuals with Disabities Education Act (2004). This website gives you information about the IEP itself. For example, this website looks into factors for consideration in developing the IEP, IEP contents, the IEP team, notice of Procedural Safeguards, and information on moving to a new school district. This website contains parent tips for each of the sections that I mentioned above!! Also changes to the IEP process that was made by IDEA 2004 are examined. This is a great tool for advocates, parents and school staff to use has a reference.
http://www.greatschools.net/cgi-bin/showarticle/2978


A site that found that a great amount of information about diagnostic testing was on District Administration website. This particular site goes into detail about diagnostic testing. It explains what formal assessment is and how it is more than just the student passing or failing. Formal assessments give teachers and administrators information they need to determine the right way to accommadate students that needs help in instructional areas. This website also talks about personal and group targets, differentiated learning, and computer based format testing. Also the authors of this website explore No Child Left Behind (NCLB).
Go check it out at: http://districtadministration.com/viewarticle.aspx?articleid=1490&p=2#0

This third website that I found is called Science Daily. This particular site reports the lastest research news. The link that I am going to provide will connect you with a report that is titled "Standardized Diagnostic Test for Learning Disabilties Developed." I found this interesting because it deals with Israli students. Dr. Evelyn Shatil from The Center of Brain Research and Learning Disabilities and Professor Baruch Nevo from the Department of Psychology at the University of Hafia have developed a standardizes test for identifying and diagnosing learning disabilties that is available in both Hebrew and Arabic. This test diagnoses reading and writing disabilities, difficulties with second language or math, and intelligence. This article discusses the two basic problems in the way they do their testing. I found this very interesting because I compared it to "our" way of testing. It is defferent, but then again they are concerned about the same things that Americans are concerned with.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/02/070222102533.htm