Academic Skills Problems Direct Assessment and Intervention

Now in a revised and expanded fifth edition that reflects current research and best practices in direct assessment and intervention, this text addresses a perennial need for school practitioners and practitioners in training. Presented is a comprehensive, problem-solving-based approach for working with K–12 students who are struggling with reading, writing, or mathematics. The book provides a framework for evaluating the instructional environment as well as each student's context and unique learning needs; planning instructional modifications; and monitoring progress. The companion workbook, available separately, contains practice exercises and reproducible forms.

New to This Edition
*Revised throughout by new coauthor Nathan H. Clemens, while retaining the core elements of Edward S. Shapiro's approach.
*New emphasis on the central role of language in reading, mathematics, and writing development and difficulties, and implications for working more effectively with linguistically and culturally diverse students.
*Fresh perspectives on behaviors that facilitate learning, such as attention to task and following directions.
*Updated and expanded coverage of key topics--universal screening; progress monitoring; intensive, individualized academic skills interventions; and more.

See also Academic Skills Problems Fifth Edition Workbook, which provides the reproducible forms discussed in the text, practice exercises, and additional useful materials, in a convenient large-size format.

Edward S. Shapiro, PhD, until his death in 2016, was Director of the Center for Promoting Research to Practice and Professor in the School Psychology Program at Lehigh University. Best known for his work in curriculum-based assessment and nonstandardized methods of assessing academic skills problems, Dr. Shapiro was the author or coauthor of numerous books and other publications, and presented papers, chaired symposia, and delivered invited addresses at conferences around the world. Dr. Shapiro’s contributions to the field of school psychology have been recognized with the Outstanding Contributions to Training Award from Trainers of School Psychologists, the Distinguished Contribution to School Psychology Award from the Pennsylvania Psychological Association, the Eleanor and Joseph Lipsch Research Award from Lehigh University, and the Senior Scientist Award from the Division of School Psychology of the American Psychological Association, among other honors.
 
Nathan H. Clemens, PhD, is Associate Professor in the Department of Special Education and Dean’s Distinguished Faculty Fellow at The University of Texas at Austin. He is a member of the Board of Directors of the Meadows Center for Preventing Educational Risk. Dr. Clemens’s research is focused on intervention and assessment for students with learning difficulties, with an emphasis on word reading difficulties among students in early elementary grades and reading comprehension difficulties for students in secondary grades. He has published over 50 peer-reviewed journal articles and chapters in edited books and is a recipient of the Outstanding Dissertation Award and the Lightner Witmer Award for Early Career Scholarship from the Division of School Psychology of the American Psychological Association.
 

Preface
1. Introduction
2. Choosing Targets for Academic Assessment and Intervention
3. Step 1: Assessing the Academic Environment
4. Step 2: Direct Assessment of Academic Skills and Assessing Instructional Placement
5. Step 3: Instructional Modification I: General Strategies and Enhancing Instruction
6. Step 3: Instructional Modification II: Specific Skills and More Intensive Interventions
7. Step 4: Progress Monitoring
8. Academic Assessment within Response-to-Intervention and Multi-Tiered Systems of Support Frameworks
9. Case Illustrations
References
Index