RTI vs. Process-Oriented Assessment Elaine Fletcher-Janzen, Ed.D., NCSP University of Colorado, Colorado Springs

WHY THE USE OF IQ TESTS HAS BEEN CALLED INTO QUESTION Little evidence in the past to support validity of success of intervention based on IQ scores Overemphasis on global scores-g Unreliability of subtest scatter profiles Impact bias for low SES children Impact bias for children from some ethnic minority groups Not representative of constructs that have functional/interventional utility (more perceptually focused)

WHY THE USE OF IQ TESTS HAS BEEN CALLED INTO QUESTION contd Over representative of analytical reasoning and memory (not other intelligences) Used as major element of the discrepancy model, which was reductionistic Discrepancy model implicitly suggested that practitioners could report numbers instead of varying hypotheses linked to interventions and follow-up

WHY THE USE OF IQ TESTS HAS BEEN CALLED INTO QUESTION contd Discrepancy model suggested minimal reliance on single-subject research design Over reliance on scores gave strict behaviorists ammunition for polarization--in other words, if you cannot get the job done using IQ tests then there is no utility for inferential methods and therefore emphasis must be on interventions that can only be observed

WHY INCLUDING MEASURES OF COGNITIVE PROCESSES IS IMPORTANT The new tests are associated with cognitive processes (KABC-II, SB-V, WJIII, CAS, WISC-IV Integrated etc.) Theoretically supported (Neuropsychological and CHC models) Multidimensional (more emphasis on processes-- sequential, simultaneous, planning etc.) that are reflective of latest neuropsychological research Inclusion of executive functioning constructs--that include information about how a child organizes the information as opposed to what information

WHY INCLUDING MEASURES OF COGNITIVE PROCESSES IS IMPORTANT contd Evolving into more dynamic constructs that assist in observing the child learn under standardized conditions Create reliable and valid profiles of learning deficits and integrities Measures of test behavior enhance process approach as to how a child obtains a score as opposed to what score they obtain---contributes to interventions Appropriate and necessary for single-subject research design

WHY INCLUDING MEASURES OF COGNITIVE PROCESSES IS IMPORTANT contd Have always had a comprehensive evaluation perspective and should never stand alone Co-norming advantages--diagnostics Does not get in the way of CBA, RTI, or Problem Solving--it assists. Does not insist on the demise of other approaches to prove validity Represents a paradigm shift that is inclusive of diverse groups and diverse approaches

Concluding Comments Successful petitions against the use of tests that measure cognitive processes will prevent and or delay some children from receiving critical diagnoses and interventions Will not reduce the ill effects of labeling Reduce the field of school psychology to a behavioral orientation that ignores many of the important contributions of humanistic, social, and neuropsychological research