Academic Skills Problems, Third Edition: Direct Assessment and Intervention

Now in a thoroughly revised and updated third edition, this bestselling text provides a comprehensive framework for the direct assessment of academic skills. Presented is a readily applicable, four-step approach for working with students experiencing a range of difficulties with reading, spelling, written language, or maths. School-based practitioners are guided sequentially through assessment of the instructional environment, assessment of instructional placement, instructional modification, and progress monitoring. Extensively rewritten to reflect current findings and best practices, the third edition includes information on useful Internet resources, updated sample forms and charts, and all-new case illustrations. Available separately is a newly revised companion workbook, containing helpful practice exercises and reproducible forms.

Table of Contents:
Introduction. Choosing Targets for Academic Assessment and Remediation. Step 1: Assessing the Academic Environment. Step 2: Assessing Instructional Placement. Step 3: Instructional Modification I: General Strategies. Step 3: Instructional Modification II: Specific Skills Areas. Step 4: Progress Monitoring. Case Illustrations. References. Index.

About the Author :
Edward S. Shapiro, PhD, is Iacocca Professor of Education, Professor of School Psychology, and Director of the Center for Promoting Research to Practice at Lehigh University. He is also Executive Director of Lehigh Transition and Assessment Services, which provides training in the school-to-work transition for secondary school-age students and young adults with disabilities. A recipient of the Lightner Witmer Award from the Division of School Psychology of the American Psychological Association, in recognition of early career contributions to school psychology, he is past Editor of [i]School Psychology Review[/i], the official journal of the National Association of School Psychologists. Dr. Shapiro has written numerous books and publications in the areas of curriculum-based assessment, behavioral assessment, behavioral interventions, and self-management strategies for classroom behavior change, including [i]Conducting School-Based Assessments of Child and Adolescent Behavior[/i] and [i]Behavioral Assessment in Schools, Second Edition[/i] (both coedited with Thomas R. Kratochwill), and [i]Promoting Children's Health[/i] (coauthored with Thomas J. Power, George J. DuPaul, and Anne E. Kazak). He is currently codirecting a federal training project focused on developing doctoral school psychologists as pediatric school psychologists, a model of training that attempts to train students to integrate health, psychological, and educational needs for children within school settings.

Review :
The third edition of this seminal book is a 'must-have' for any school-based professional involved in the assessment of academic skills in elementary-age students. Shapiro has once again provided the field with a user-friendly approach to curriculum-based assessment (CBA) that addresses the increasing need for scientifically based practice, accountability, and the monitoring of student progress. - John M. Hintze, School Psychology Program, University of Massachusetts at Amherst This outstanding third edition reflects the most recent advances in knowledge about direct academic assessment and intervention. The book will have broad applicability to university programs in education, school psychology, and special education, as well as providing an invaluable resource for school-based professionals. This is an excellent contribution to the literature and will serve as the critical source for addressing children's academic skills problems. - Tanya L. Eckert, Department of Psychology, Syracuse University