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Childhood obesity is a pervasive health issue, with multifaceted implications for developmental trajectory. Participants included 5,573 K-5 students enrolled in a high-poverty urban public-school setting. Through an informal yet holistic assessment process, students identified as exhibiting overweight issues were compared to peers not designated as overweight across several relevant categories. Overweight students were more likely to be from lower socioeconomic backgrounds; have a high association with special education service needs; represent a more intensive overall risk level as perceived by student support staff; and mostly exhibit decreased performance in report card grades, standardized test scores, and academic engagement. Results confirm previously documented disparities in school functioning and consideration for at-risk status; this is especially relevant in an underserved context, in which regular access to services may be limited. Therefore, reliance on initial screening measures becomes necessary as a preventative mechanism to better assist children in need and to facilitate intervention planning.

This qualitative phenomenological study explores the experiences of parents of children with special needs in Turkey, specifically their encounters with Guidance and Research Centers (GRCs) during the process of obtaining educational assessment reports. Through semi-structured interviews with 25 parents, the study reveals complex emotions and concerns over the assessment process, including the adequacy of assessment tools, the duration of evaluations, and the involvement of parents in the decision-making process. While many parents expressed satisfaction with the outcomes, significant issues were highlighted, such as the lack of communication between professionals and families and discrepancies in the accuracy of assessments and placement decisions. The research underscores the need for a more collaborative approach between parents and professionals, emphasizing the importance of improved communication, enhanced diversity of assessment tools, and longer evaluation periods to ensure a fairer and more comprehensive understanding of each child's unique needs. The findings also suggest that greater parental involvement in the assessment and placement processes could lead to better educational outcomes and increased satisfaction for families. These insights have important implications for future policy and practice in special education assessment and support in Turkey.

The English Diagnostic Test aims to assess reading comprehension skills for first-year students at the University of Costa Rica. In 2022, this test consisted of four instruments with 55 items. Instruments were based on an academic reading, following the criteria B2+ or C1 level according to Common European Framework of Reference for languages. This paper explores the evidence of validity and reliability from 1732 first-year students virtually assessed in March of 2022, using the platform of the Programa de Evaluacion en Lenguas Extranjeras (PELEx). Results from this study demonstrated the unidimensionality of the four instruments. Cronbach's alphas for the four instruments ranged from 0.79 to 0.84. Evidence collected in this study supports the work done by the School on Modern Languages in the development of valid and reliable instruments for the English Diagnostic Test, as part of the current needs of new students for undergraduate programs at the University of Costa Rica.

Purpose: Many young children in need of early intervention are not identified in a timely manner. This preliminary study explored the emerging role of speech language pathologists (SLPs), providing training to improve the use of developmental screening in pediatric primary care. Method: A quantitative, descriptive methodology with a one-group pretest, posttest interventional design was utilized to assess the impact of an SLP-led educational intervention on the knowledge of 17 paraprofessional medical support personnel to administer a standardized developmental screening tool. Results: Data analysis revealed a significant increase on knowledge posttest scores from pretest scores. Conclusion: SLPs providing educational training in pediatric primary care is an important first step in identifying solutions to improving the early identification of children with developmental concerns.

Purpose: According to the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA), prevention, identification, assessment, and intervention of children who are learning to read and write are within the scope of practice for school-based speech-language pathologists (SLPs). Furthermore, for SLPs who work in the school setting, it is not uncommon to have struggling readers and poor spellers on their caseloads. Importantly, for students who have difficulty in spelling, their spelling errors are among the early indicators of dyslexia and can provide a means for identifying readers who may benefit from early intervention. SLPs can both assess spelling skills and implement evidence-based spelling and literacy diagnosis and instruction. Spelling instruction in kindergarten through the high school grades that is heavily grounded in metalinguistic activities can provide access to mental representations of word spellings, pronunciations, and meanings; links between whole-word and phonics approaches to reading instruction; and a foundation for reading fluency and comprehension. Conclusions: Learning to spell is essential for learning to read. Accordingly, this tutorial aims to elucidate how to (a) assess and identify phases of spelling development and (b) teach spelling to facilitate reading through a listening-first approach.

In classroom assessments, examinees can often answer test items multiple times, resulting in sequential multiple-attempt data. Sequential diagnostic classification models (DCMs) have been developed for such data. As student learning processes may be aligned with a hierarchy of measured traits, this study aimed to develop a sequential hierarchical DCM (sequential HDCM), which combines a sequential DCM with the HDCM, and investigate classification accuracy of the model in the presence of hierarchies when multiple attempts are allowed in dynamic assessment. We investigated the model's impact on classification accuracy when hierarchical structures are correctly specified, misspecified, or overspecified. The results indicate that (1) a sequential HDCM accurately classified students as masters and nonmasters when the data had a hierarchical structure; (2) a sequential HDCM produced similar or slightly higher classification accuracy than nonhierarchical sequential LCDM when the data had hierarchical structures; and (3) the misspecification of the hierarchical structure of the data resulted in lower classification accuracy when the misspecified model had fewer attribute profiles than the true model. We discuss limitations and make recommendations on using the proposed model in practice. This study provides practitioners with information about the possibilities for psychometric modeling of dynamic classroom assessment data.

This study aims to examine the effect of diagnostic labels on the responses of preservice early childhood teachers to the inclusion of children with special needs in general education classes. 228 preservice early childhood teachers, who participated in the study, answered the Demographic Information Form and the Teachers' Comfort and Concern Scale (TCCQ). The questionnaire consists of two formats in which vignettes are presented with and without a diagnosis label. As a result of the t-test and the Mann Whitney-U test applied to the data obtained from the six-points scale questions of TCCQ, it was observed that the comfort levels of the preservice teachers and their classroom adaptation and the need for support did not differ according to the presence or absence of the diagnostic labels, the type of child's disability, the grade level and the undergraduate program of the preservice teachers. According to the results of the inductive analysis conducted to the open-ended questions in the TCCQ, the participants felt positive/comfortable, negative/concerned and responsible for being teachers of children with special needs. They wanted to learn about children's characteristics and previous educational life before they attended the early childhood classroom.

The aim of this study is to examine the educational evaluation and diagnosis process of individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). This study, which was implemented in the Guidance and Research Center (GRC) in Dulkadiroglu District of Kahramanmaras in 2019, was carried out with participants consisting of two administrators, seven teachers and seven parents with children with ASD. The research adopts the phenomenological approach, which is one of the qualitative research methods. Interview techniques were used in accordance with this model. The findings obtained from the data analyzed with content analysis were explained with six themes as medical diagnosis, ambient, personnel competence, measurement tools, individuals with ASD and parents. Difficulties in the evaluation process of children with ASD in GRC are stated as evaluation based on medical diagnosis, lack of diagnostic authority of GRCs, not communicating with individuals with ASD before evaluation, uniform assessment environment, instant evaluation. In addition, it was stated that the inexperience of the staff about ASD and the insufficient knowledge of using measurement tools negatively affected the evaluation process. The suggestions of the participants to improve the process were not to make evaluations based on medical diagnosis, to communicate with individuals with ASD before the evaluation, to diversify the evaluation environments and to extend the time, and to enrich the observations with various environments. Increasing personnel competence with in-service training, planning in undergraduate programs, developing a measurement tool for individuals with ASD, shortening the waiting period for families and facilitating appointment were among the suggestions.

The purpose of this study is to examine the effects of nudges on online college students' use of the Diagnostic Assessment and Achievement of College Skills (DAACS), a suite of free, online assessments, feedback, and resources designed to optimize student success in college. The results indicate that the nudges had an effect on students' completion of the DAACS and on accessing the feedback. The effectiveness varied by type of nudge and the order in which a series of nudges was sent. Simply sending the nudges did not have a direct effect on academic outcomes, but students who responded to one series of nudges were more successful than those who did not.

This study aims to develop knowledge about how 'the Deviant' is produced through identificatory mapping materials that operate in Swedish preschools. This is achieved by identifying and critically reviewing a base of mapping materials commonly used in Swedish ECEC today, focusing on how the documents per se, and the formulations therein, risk pointing both the writer and the recipient in certain directions. This includes analysing the pre-existing structure and content as well as the proposed purpose of the mapping material. Drawing on Foucault, I consider documentation as a productive discursive element in a larger apparatus, where the mapping materials operate as a governing technology for making normalising judgments. The analysis contributes to an understanding of the documentality governing ECEC professionals, which affects how they resonate, and act in aiming to fulfil their mission in identifying certain children. In line with this reasoning, I also point out the specific status the documents have gained in the global ECEC quality discourse. The analysis shows how mapping documents named "Pedagogical Mapping" operate as a discursive element of the apparatus of early childhood special education identification processes and become fruitful for visibilising, comparing, and assessing the child and for further governing.

It is well-known that a key to promoting students' mathematics learning is to provide opportunities for problem solving and reasoning, but also that maintaining such opportunities in student-teacher interaction is challenging for teachers. In particular, teachers need support for identifying students' specific difficulties, in order to select appropriate feedback that supports students' mathematically founded reasoning without reducing students' responsibility for solving the task. The aim of this study was to develop a diagnostic framework that is functional for identifying, characterising, and communicating about the difficulties students encounter when trying to solve a problem and needing help from the teacher to continue the construction of mathematically founded reasoning. We describe how we reached this aim by devising iterations of design experiments, including 285 examples of students' difficulties from grades 1-12, related to 110 tasks, successively increasing the empirical grounding and theoretical refinement of the framework. The resulting framework includes diagnostic questions, definitions, and indicators for each diagnosis and structures the diagnostic process in two simpler steps with guidelines for difficult cases. The framework therefore has the potential to support teachers both in eliciting evidence about students' reasoning during problem solving and in interpreting this evidence.

This article looks at how colonialism has contributed to the racialized history of Indigenous people by unethical diagnostic implementations of categories and classifications, while overlooking exceptionalities when assessing Indigenous people. By understanding how settler-colonial assessments and/or diagnostic tests have been developed and utilized on Indigenous peoples, the reader can grasp the severity of any misdiagnoses, which can contribute to mislabeling due to cultural factors that have not been included and are beyond the understanding of the often non-Indigenous evaluator. Having an assessment or diagnoses, though, is a method to obtain accommodations and specialized education. Yet, if the systems that were created do not accurately measure the responses of the Indigenous individual, then an injustice will occur, not only for a possible misdiagnosis, but also for a missed opportunity to offer help if required. The need to understand the total individual beyond a mere assessment can provide insightful information, which is crucial for the examinee and examiner. It can affect the life of the whole person being assessed, if done without the Indigenous information that has been omitted.

Twice-exceptional (2e) students are a unique group at risk for social/emotional difficulties and disenfranchisement in schools. These students' profiles combine giftedness with areas of struggle such as learning disabilities, social impairments, emotional and mental health issues, or behavioural problems. Supporting 2e students requires developing and delivering learning plans that address both their gifted needs and areas requiring support. When their giftedness goes unaddressed, 2e students are particularly susceptible to negative school outcomes. Currently, Manitoba does not recognize giftedness as a criterion for academic consideration; therefore, 2e students in the province are not assured appropriate educational support.

To inform instruction, screening and diagnostic assessments must collect accurate data about the current state of the learner. Unfortunately, students may find assessments unengaging, intimidating, or irrelevant, undermining the quality of their effort and the quality of the data. The application of gaming to assessments may provide a way to boost and sustain effortful test-taker engagement, an integration that has thus far yielded mixed results, at best. Our interdisciplinary team reviewed and evaluated existing gamification research to consolidate a set of guiding principles for effectively merging diagnostic assessment tasks and protocols with a motivating game-like context in ways that specifically foster high levels of test-taker effort. We share our work in this paper to help inform ongoing research and development leading to more efficient and effective assessments of children.

We used latent profile analysis to identify major behavioral self-regulation profiles among children who were assessed as developmentally vulnerable in terms of hyperactivity and inattention. We examined three domains of behavioral regulation: (a) cognitive--behavioral regulation by way of learning behaviors; (b) social-behavioral regulation by way of socially responsible behaviors; and (c) emotional-behavioral regulation by way of aggressive-disruptive behaviors. We employed data from the population of New South Wales (NSW) children who were in their first year of school (viz., kindergarten) and who had been assessed as developmentally vulnerable in terms of hyperactivity and inattention in the Australian Early Development Census in 2009 (Cohort 1; N = 10,223) and 2012 (Cohort 2; N = 9,360). In both cohorts, we identified six similar profiles: the "well-regulated" (12%), "moderately-regulated" (25%), "aggressive-regulated" (7%), "mixed-unregulated" (32%), "nonaggressive-unregulated" (10%), and "aggressive-unregulated profiles" (14%). Sociodemographic characteristics were significantly associated with profile membership. For Cohort 1, we also found that the profiles differed in the extent to which children went on to receive a formal Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) diagnosis. Together, the findings have implications for early intervention for various behavioral self-regulation profiles among developmentally vulnerable children.

This study was conducted with the parents of 30 children aged between 7 and 15 years with a mean age of 9.47 who were officially diagnosed as gifted individuals. Parents' views on recognizing and training gifted individuals in early childhood were examined. It is aimed to determine the characteristics of gifted individuals in early childhood and to reveal parental experiences about their education. Parents of students attending Malatya Science and Art Center (BILSEM) participated in this research. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 30 parents who voluntarily participated in the study. In this study, which was carried out with a phenomenological design, which is one of the qualitative research methods, a transcript of each interview was written from the audio recordings for data analysis. The answers were grouped under the main coding title and categorized. Subcoding was obtained from the categorized responses. In the sub-coding, similar expressions gathered under one heading were listed and the final tables were obtained. The tables were analyzed and the findings were obtained. The results obtained from the findings were summarized and interpreted in line with the sub-problems of the research. From the results of the research, it is understood that the most distinctive features of gifted individuals in early childhood are the advanced level in learning, motivation and language-speaking. In order to recognize the child in the early period, giving importance to the education of parents and preschool teachers, directing them to intelligence tests and developing a diagnostic program for these children are among the findings.

Teachers' diagnostic competence is fundamental for supporting students' individual learning processes and must be fostered in teacher education. Following a design-based research approach, a learning environment is developed focusing on preservice physics teachers' diagnostic competence in diagnosing students' conceptions. A core element of the learning environment are video vignettes of high school students solving tasks on mechanics. The learning arrangement was implemented in a bachelor's level physics didactics course. We aimed to identify supportive and obstructive elements for the preservice teachers' learning processes when training with the video vignettes to inform the redesign of the learning environment. The working phases centred around the training video vignettes were videotaped and data of four groups of preservice teachers was analysed with thick description. We reconstructed preservice teachers' intentions of action to gather a deeper understanding of supportive and obstructive elements. Among other findings, results show that preservice teachers' gaps in content knowledge highly influence the training situation.

This study aims to examine in-depth the practices and the problems of primary school teachers in identifying and eliminating reading and writing difficulties. The current study employed phenomenology method, one of the qualitative research designs and the data of the study were collected through observation and interview techniques. Criterion sampling, one of the purposeful sampling methods was utilized in determining study group. Six primary school teachers were selected in accordance with the determined criteria to collect the interview data. To collect observation data, 3 primary schools were selected and a total of 16 hours of observation was made. According to the findings, most of the teachers did not receive education about identifying students with reading and writing difficulties, conducting studies with these students, and preparing materials, activities, and etc. suitable for them. Moreover, primary school teachers expressed that although there were some disadvantages of inclusive education, students with reading and writing difficulties should continue their education in inclusive classes. However, the necessity of providing supplementary support to these students in addition to inclusive education was frequently emphasized. When the practices of primary school teachers with students having reading and writing difficulty were examined, it was observed that they generally used letter/syllable trinkets, gamification, letter cards, individual syllable work, memorization assignments, dictation work, story reading, drama and colored syllables. On the other hand, it was determined that methods, techniques or strategies that stated to be effective in the literature were either used very little or not at all in classrooms.

Although federal law has provided guidelines for autism eligibility for special education, school-based autism assessment and eligibility vary widely across states and identification continues to lag behind national prevalence data. The main role of the school psychologist continues to be conducting evaluations for special education eligibility, and given current barriers, some school psychologists do not feel equipped to make a recommendation for autism eligibility. This article summarizes the barriers school psychologists face when conducting autism assessments in the schools, including systemic barriers, lack of training or professional development, resulting lack of confidence, among others. We conclude by highlighting recommendations for multipronged systemic changes that will improve the capacity of special education teams and specifically support the pivotal role of the school psychologist in conducting autism eligibility evaluations in the schools.

The purpose of this article is to explore the intersectionality of autism and sociocultural factors as well as discuss the complexities associated with appropriate assessment, diagnosis, and intervention. Based on a review of the literature, the authors present a brief history of the emergence of the term autism and highlight factors that have contributed to current concerns about failures to appropriately recognize autism within diverse populations. Referencing extant research as well as professional practice standards, this article examines aspects of autism and intersectionality, and explores some of the associated challenges related to assessment, diagnosis, and intervention. Further, the authors reflect on the critical importance of carefully considering all aspects of a child's identity when engaging in autism assessment and intervention within the school setting. School-based practitioners are provided with guidance for addressing the needs of diverse populations of students with autism.

This analytical study documented the presence of transactions in parent-child engagement within a sample of young children at an elevated likelihood for an eventual diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Specifically, the study examined the establishment of transactional engagement through reciprocal behaviors between parents and their young children at-risk for ASD. In the study sample, established transactional engagement occurred at a higher rate than other levels of engagement. Additionally, transactional engagement had a higher likelihood of being established when parents initiated. Post-hoc analyses revealed possible early markers of ASD within a certain behavior displayed in transactions. This study signifies the initial efforts in identifying transactions within parent-child engagement, and foremost, how transactional engagement is established.

The main purpose of this study was to design and verify the quality of an assessment aimed at diagnosing scientific misconceptions among students enrolled in 10th-grade biology subjects. A sample consisted of N=200 students from schools under the administration of the Office of Secondary Educational Service 31, Nakhon Ratchasima province. We employed the design-based approach, which consists of four phases, namely, construct map, item design, outcome space, and Wright map. Multidimensional Random Coefficient Multinomial Logit Model (MRCMLM) was used to evaluate the quality of the assessment tool. The assessment tool consists of two dimensions, namely, knowledge and reasoning. The assessment tool is comprised of 40 items, with 20 items tapping each of the dimensions. Findings form item analysis and modeling revealed sufficient evidence on the internal structure and validity of the instrument. It can be concluded that the unidimensional model is more appropriate than the multidimensional model for diagnosing scientific misconceptions in the genetics topic for dichotomously scored with four options in each item. The polytomous scored type should be further investigated to determine the best fit model in the items relating to evidence-based reasoning for supporting students' answers.

During the past decade, cognitive diagnostic models (CDMs) have become prevalent in providing diagnostic information for learning. Cognitive diagnostic models have generally focused on single cross-sectional time points. However, longitudinal assessments have been commonly used in education to assess students' learning progress as well as evaluating intervention effects. Thus, it becomes natural to identify longitudinal growth in skills profiles mastery, which can yield meaningful inferences on learning. This study proposes longitudinal CDMs that incorporate latent growth curve modeling and covariate extensions, with the aim to measure the growth of skills mastery and to evaluate attribute-level intervention effects over time. Using real-world data, this study demonstrates applications of unconditional and conditional latent growth CDMs. Simulation studies show stable parameter recovery and classification of latent classes for different sample sizes. These findings suggest that building on the well-established growth modeling frameworks, applications of covariate-based longitudinal CDM can help understand the effect of explanatory factors and intervention on the change of attribute mastery.

The purpose of the study was to diagnose students' misconceptions of a number of basic astronomy concepts, namely, the Universe, the Sun, Comets and Constellations. The study was designed as a mixed method research and the sample was composed of a total of 110 seventh grade students. Data were collected through concept cartoons and interviews. In the concept cartoons prepared for each concept, there were four expressions, one of which is a scientific judgment, while the others were misconceptions. Students were asked to choose one of these expressions and explain why s/he thinks in that way. After the analysis of concept cartoons, semi-structured interviews were conducted with five of the students who were found to hold misconceptions. Findings of the study showed that students held several misconceptions on the concepts being studied. Students had misconceptions mostly about comets and they had limited understanding about constellations. Defining a comet as an image of a dying star falling from the sky was quite common among the students, and the number of students who defined constellations as a group of stars connected by lines among them was considerable. The findings of the study also showed that concept cartoons are functional tools for detecting misconceptions.

Great opportunities for language testing practitioners are enabled through language program administration. Local language tests lend themselves to multiple purposes--for placement and diagnosis, as a means of tracking progress, and as a contribution to program evaluation and revision. Administrative choices, especially those involving a test, are strategic and can be used to transform a program's identity and effectiveness over time.

Many educational and psychological studies have shown that the development of students is generally step-by-step (i.e. ordinal development) to a specific level. This study proposed a novel longitudinal learning diagnosis model with polytomous attributes to track students' ordinal development in learning. Using the concept of polytomous attributes in the proposed model, the learning process of a specific skill, from non-mastery to mastery, can be divided into multiple ordinal steps in order to better characterize the learning trajectory. The results of an empirical study conducted to explore the performance of the proposed model indicated that it could adequately diagnose the ordinal development of skills in longitudinal assessments. A simulation study was also conducted to examine the estimation accuracy of general ability and the classification accuracy of attributes of the proposed model in different simulated conditions.

This study investigates what role diagnoses play in institutional decision-making in regards to provision of special educational support and in the referral of pupils from mainstream schooling to special needs schools or classes. During the past decades, many countries have witnessed a radical increase in the number of children receiving psychiatric diagnoses, and increasing demands for special educational support. This development raises the question of how these two observations relate, and if psychiatric diagnoses serve as a prerequisite for allocating support. This study uses an institutional ethnographic approach to analyse qualitative data from four Danish municipal referral committees, processing 13 children's cases. In these settings, representatives of school authorities and educational psychologists decide if a child should be offered special educational support. The results show that the committees do not use diagnoses as direct arguments for their decisions. However, the institutional setup of the referral system creates an expectation that children referred to the committees already are diagnosed, as the types of special educational support are organised according to diagnostic categories. When a child is identified as experiencing problems at school, this expectation might prompt schools, parents or educational psychologists to request that a psychiatric assessment is carried out.

There is a growing trend of adult diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Research has found that diagnosis can prompt a process of sense-making which may be disrupted by lack of post-diagnostic support. Given the continued involvement of many parents in supporting their adult son or daughter with ASD, it is vital to understand their experiences to meet their needs in adapting to the diagnosis. Eleven parents of recently diagnosed adults participated in semi-structured interviews which were analysed thematically. Findings demonstrate that the new knowledge of diagnosis facilitates changes in attributions, interactions and relationships, but can result in unmet emotional and relational support needs. Findings are relevant to those involved in adult diagnosis, and the provision of post-diagnostic support.

This study investigates the diagnostic and prognostic framings of Swedish mathematics teachers regarding the difficulties experienced by students in mathematics learning. Collegial discussions among 65 mathematics teachers in nine collegial groups were videotaped during a professional development (PD) program entitled Boost for Mathematics for analysis. The results show that the diagnostic framings of the teachers were mainly attributed to the cognitive abilities of students, whereas the prognostic framings were mainly related to lesson organization such that students should collaborate. While the teachers emphasize collaborate group work, they put little emphasis on how they could act in these learning situations. These results contribute to the understanding of Swedish mathematics teachers' framing of students' difficulties in mathematics learning and to the role of collegial discussions in PD initiatives.

Background: The importance of diagnostic and scaffolding activities for early science learning has been shown consistently. However, preschool teachers scarcely engage in them. We developed an instrument to assess preschool teachers' willingness to engage in diagnostic and scaffolding activities in science learning situations and examined its relation with teachers' knowledge, beliefs and practice. Aims: We validate an instrument to assess willingness to engage in scaffolding and diagnostic activities and study the interplay between willingness, learning beliefs, content knowledge (CK) and pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) in the context of science learning, particularly block play. Sample(s): A total of N = 151 preschool teachers from 41 kindergartens in Germany participated in our study. Methods: Preschool teachers completed a questionnaire, which took approximately 1 hour of time. We drew a subsample of N = 73 teachers and observed their practice during a 30 min block play episode. Results: With our instrument, we were able to distinguish between preschool teachers' willingness to diagnose and to scaffold. Preschool teachers' co-constructivist beliefs and PCK predicted willingness to engage in diagnosing, PCK also predicted willingness to engage in scaffolding. Associations between learning beliefs and practice were inconsistent. Conclusions: Our study highlights aspects of the association between preschool teachers' PCK and their willingness to engage in diagnosing and scaffolding. However, we found inconsistencies between preschool teachers' beliefs and practice, which call for further clarification.

Difficulty learning to read presents many struggles for children and their families, and evaluation of parental perspectives of the dyslexia assessment process within the United States represents an under-researched area. This study sought to investigate how parental perspectives change during their child's dyslexia assessment. Six hundred one parents of children experiencing reading difficulties provided both Likert scale and open-ended responses to an online survey regarding their experiences throughout the dyslexia assessment and diagnosis process. Participants' responses were analyzed through thematic coding, sentiment analysis, and regression analysis. Parent perspectives were largely positive but revealed three important areas for investigation: shift in parental perspectives and lifestyles, assessment timelines, and parental advocacy and support. The assessment timeline predicted parental satisfaction. Results indicate a desire for clarity in the assessment process and ongoing needs for advocacy, support, and intervention. Implications for educational assessments, parent/family support, and suggestions for future research are discussed.

This study aimed to determine problems of preservice teachers on technological pedagogical knowledge skills. The socio-economic transformations taking place in the country indicate the presence of a society's need for a person who has the ability to set goals and achieve them independently. In this regard, education is faced with the task of forming the personality of the future teacher as a subject capable of diagnosing the process and results of its activities. However, the educational technologies used at the university most often alienate students from educational activities, offering ready-made goals, ways to solve them, and thereby exclude them from the diagnostic process. A change in the modern educational situation actualizes the formation problem of technological pedagogical knowledge skills in a future teacher. The article deals with the development of a scientifically-based system for preparing students for diagnostic activity, which includes theoretical and practical training at the university. The practical significance of the research results lies in the possibility of using the developed methodological recommendations in the practice of training specialists in the field of primary education.

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is often diagnosed by clinical practitioners with criteria from the American Psychiatric Association, but an educational diagnosis is usually based on state special education law and is geared towards addressing concerns within schools. The current study aims to examine the extent to which the clinical diagnosis of ASD corresponds to the educational diagnosis of Autism, and what factors and assessments influenced the diagnosis. Data consisted of 32 randomly selected deidentified initial school evaluation reports (autism = 16; non-autism = 16) from one midwestern state. The reports were coded based on identification methods and student data. Results indicate that the Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule, Second Edition assessment was the strongest predictor of Autism eligibility within schools, but students with a cognitive ability score that was one standard deviation below the mean (i.e., standard score £84) were more frequently identified with educational eligibility of ASD (AU) by a factor of 14.67 as compared with individuals with a higher cognitive score. Implications for future research and practice are included.

This research aims to construct and validate progress maps of digital technology for diagnosing the multidimensional mathematical proficiency (MP) in Number and Algebra for Grade 7 students utilizing the Construct Modeling Approach. Researchers employed four building blocks as follows. Firstly, researchers developed the progress maps as an assessment framework of multidimensional MP. This is followed by creating the test for diagnosing MP. Next, researchers assigned scoring criteria and created the transition points of students' MP levels. Finally, researchers validated the quality of the progress maps through empirical evidence. A total sample 1,500 Grade 7 students was used to support the validity and reliability evidence of the progress maps through the Wright Map using Multidimensional Random Coefficients Multinomial Logit Model. Results revealed that there were two dimensions of progress maps, namely mathematical procedures (MAP) and structure of learning outcome (SLO), and the researchers investigated three strands of validity evidence, namely test content, response processes, and internal structure. The reliability values in the MAP and SLO were 0.84 and 0.80 respectively. Finally, the Grade 7 students were mainly found to be at level-2 in the MAP dimension (44.95%) and the SLO dimension (61.57%). The experts' evaluation results showed that the digital technology that was developed at the "most appropriate" quality levels in terms of usefulness, suitability, and accuracy, and at the "very appropriate" for the feasibility aspect, and hence is successfully contributing to the clarification of learning goals, to support for student-centered instruction, and that it is helpful in improving in teacher professional development.

We propose a conceptual framework which may guide research on fostering diagnostic competences in simulations in higher education. We first review and link research perspectives on the components and the development of diagnostic competences, taken from medical and teacher education. Applying conceptual knowledge in diagnostic activities is considered necessary for developing diagnostic competences in both fields. Simulations are considered promising in providing opportunities for knowledge application when real experience is overwhelming or not feasible for ethical, organizational or economic reasons. To help learners benefit from simulations, we then propose a systematic investigation of different types of instructional support in such simulations. We particularly focus on different forms of scaffolding during problem-solving and on the possibly complementary roles of the direct presentation of information in these kinds of environments. Two sets of possibly moderating factors, individual learning prerequisites (such as executive functions) or epistemic emotions and contextual factors (such as the nature of the diagnostic situation or the domain) are viewed as groups of potential moderators of the instructional effects. Finally, we outline an interdisciplinary research agenda concerning the instructional design of simulations for advancing diagnostic competences in medical and teacher education.