What do you all make of this?? 'Assessment of Performance Attainment', eh?
A new layer (for better or for worse) is creeping in...
see
http://www.dfes.gov.uk/studentsupport/administrators/dsp_section_53_10.9.shtml
Chapter 7a - page 35
C32 The tests used in the diagnostic assessment should be either the
Wechsler Adult Intelligence Test (WAIS) or the Wechsler Intelligence Scale
for Children (WISC). If the diagnostic evidence is more than 2 years old
at the time of entry to HE, the student should be required to undergo an
'Assessment of Performance Attainment' which would provide an update on
their current performance in reading, writing and spelling. A new
'Assessment of Performance' should be requested when the diagnostic report
is more than two years old at the time of entry to higher education
regardless of the student's age when the diagnostic assessment was carried
out. Cognitive functioning is unlikely to change even if the student was
diagnosed as a child and there is no requirement for a reassessment of
cognitive functioning to be carried out. However, reading, writing and
spelling could change in adulthood. The 'Assessment of Performance
Attainment is a 'top up' diagnosis which provides up to date evidence of
the student's current degree of difficulty in reading, writing and
spelling. The top up diagnosis should be based on standardised tests
suitable for adults, such as the Wider Range Achievement Tests (WRAT) and
Woodcock Reading Mastery Test (WRMT). LEAs may also wish to consult
section 145 of the Report of the National Working Party on Dyslexia in
Higher Education (published in January 1999) for further advice on suitable
'top up' tests. The Assessment of Performance Attainment is part of the
diagnosis and the cost should be met by the student. The Assessment of
Performance Attainment could be accepted if carried out by a Special Needs
Teacher or other psychologists, such as clinical or occupational
psychologists, who are not chartered.
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