David's Observation

Background Information

David is a 14-year- old student at Comsewogue High School. His current special education classification is a Learning Disability, specifically in the area of Basic Reading Skills, Reading Comprehension, and Reading Fluency Skills. David is enrolled in a split program for Special Class (15:1) placement for Math and Science; in addition, an Integrated Co-Teaching placement for English and Social Studies. All of his electives are provided in a general education setting. As per his IEP,

Program modifications include:

Study guide outlines of key concepts

Use of a calculator

Tests accommodations include:

Direction read

Extended time

Separate Location/room

Test Passage, question, items, and multiple choice responses

Rapport was established and maintained throughout testing. David displayed appropriate verbal skills and expressed himself when asked questions. David maintained his attention. He was motivated and did not appear adversely affected by frustration. David responded to items within the appropriate times. Overall, giving the testing conditions and Michael’s effort, the current results appear to be an accurate estimate of his cognitive ability.

David’s cognitive abilities were assessed through the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children, 5th Edition (WISC-V). The subtests measure different cognitive processing abilities and when combined form five index scores: Verbal Comprehension, Visual-Spatial, Fluid Reasoning, Working Memory, and Processing Speed; which all together make up the Full-Scale IQ score. David obtained a standard score of 79 (8th percentile), which falls within the Very Low Range. His performance across the indexes varied from the Very Low to the Average range; suggesting his intelligence is best understood by his performance on the separate

He obtained an index score of 92 (30th percentile). His Verbal Comprehension and Fluid Reasoning skills were with the Low Average range, indicating areas of a relative weakness. The Verbal Comprehension Index assessed David’s ability to demonstrate his depth of knowledge, which he has acquired from formal classroom education, as well as from incidental learning. David was asked to comprehend and reason with general information and provide the correct meaning of vocabulary words. He obtained an index score of 89 (23rd percentile). He obtained Fluid Reasoning score of 88 (21st percentile), which measured his ability to nonverbally reason and solve