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 students context and unique learning needs; planning instructional modifications; and monitoring progress. The companion workbook, available separately, contains practice exercises and reproducible forms.

A classic resource, now updated:

• More concise and accessible throughout, the work includes a new form for reading comprehension, updates to math and spelling forms, and more.
• Comprehensive and time saving: complete forms, exercises, and worksheets to make data-based decisions.

Table of Contents

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

"I have read and used every edition of Academic Skills Problems in numerous graduate courses. The fifth edition continues to draw me in with its well-conceptualized, practical approach to assessing the educational environment, students' behavioral and social–emotional functioning, and their language and academic skills. Shapiro's assessment model leads to specifically described interventions and progress monitoring across the tiers. I have never found a book that does a better job of laying out an empirically based, easy-to-follow model of integrated academic assessment and treatment. Since the first edition, this book has been ahead of its time—the fifth edition fits perfectly not only with current research but also with the critical needs of K–12 students in our schools today."
- Melissa A. Bray, PhD, CCC-SLP, Professor and Director, School Psychology Program, University of Connecticut

"In the fifth edition, Clemens has updated and enhanced Shapiro’s foundational text and companion workbook with extensive new information based on contemporary research and practice. Using the keystone model of academic skills as an overarching framework, the fifth edition provides practical guidance about research-based assessment and intervention procedures; equally important, it offers caveats about popular but largely ineffective tactics. This book will continue to be a fundamental text in school psychology training programs as well as a go-to resource for practitioners who work in multi-tiered systems of support. It really operationalizes how school psychologists should function. The fifth edition of the Workbook again offers useful reproducible forms and detailed procedures that support work in an instructional environment context."
- Joseph F. Kovaleski, DEd, NCSP, Professor Emeritus of Educational and School Psychology, Indiana University of Pennsylvania

"The fifth edition of this seminal resource truly delivers. Every university trainer, school psychologist, and special educator will welcome this needed guide to addressing K–12 students’ academic challenges. Cutting-edge research is integrated into a comprehensive approach to assessment and intervention decision making within a multi-tiered systems of support framework. A particularly compelling feature of the text is the elegant yet simple approach to direct academic assessment using keystone skills that align with intervention selection. This book is a 'must have' for preservice training and professional development."
- Robin S. Codding, PhD, BCBA, School Psychology Program, Northeastern University

"An essential text for individuals who engage in academic assessment, intervention, and/or data-based decision making in schools. The fifth edition is significantly updated with contemporary research, while retaining its comprehensive practitioner-oriented approach. The detailed, realistic case illustrations in the final chapter integrate all the content from the prior chapters. This unique book is a great text for school psychologists in training as well as practitioners seeking to further their professional development. Readers will appreciate the explicit guidance on how to conceptualize academic difficulties, use data to inform the selection of evidence-based interventions, and monitor progress. Useful tools are available in each chapter. I look forward to using the fifth edition in my Academic Interventions course."
- Stacy-Ann A. January, PhD, NCSP, School Psychology Program, University of South Florida