Educational Report

Demographics

Name: Peter
School/Grade: 1st grade at Hibbard Elementary School
Date of Birth: 03/30/2012
Age: 6 years, 3 months
Evaluation Date: June 26-29, 2018
Evaluators: Alisa Childs Castrejon, Morgan Larson, and Natalie Sellers
Report Authors: Alisa Childs Castrejon, Morgan Larson, and Natalie Sellers

Reason for Referral

Peter’s parents believe he may function in the gifted and talented range for written expression.
He also suffers from a mild speech impediment which hinders his oral language. The Woodcock-
Johnson Standard Battery and the Oral and Written Language Scales will be used to assess
Peter’s current abilities to determine if he does qualify for special services in the gifted or
talented range.

Background

Developmental History
Peter reached developmental milestones at typical ages, including sitting, crawling, running, and
jumping. He follows multiple step directions and was described by his mother and teachers as
being very obedient. He is aware of what his chores are and often does them without having to
be asked. His main chore is bringing laundry to the laundry room. He has his mother’s number
memorized and understands how to use a phone. He gets dressed independently. No motor skill
issues were noticed with Peter and are viewed as a strength. Peter plays soccer and baseball on
teams, as well as basketball at home. He plays make-believe by himself and with friends. His
mother said he is very detailed oriented, which was shown in his love for drawing.

Family Information and Social/Emotional History

Peter lives with his mother and father, as well as his one younger sibling and five older siblings.
He interacts well with his siblings, as observed at home and during the interview with his mother
at the park. While Peter may not initiate social interaction with large groups of peers, he does
frequently play with his neighbor and best friend. According to his mother, they spend time
together almost everyday and are “inseparable.” They also talk to each other a lot. He is shy
around strangers, especially adults. He is also relatively quiet in general, but will open up to
those he knows better. However, he is not typically affectionate. According to his mother, Peter
occasionally becomes frustrated, mostly at his siblings. He will scream and punch as a result, but
he is overall a relaxed child. He plays well on sports teams and can play other games in a
cooperative manner with others.

Medical
Peter was born vaginally six weeks early as a result of HELLP syndrome during pregnancy,
which is a complication with high blood pressure for the mother. He had a small umbilical cord
and was also rushed to the NICU after delivery because he was having trouble breathing. Despite
this, he was tested normal in both vision and hearing. His mother says he has some adverse
reactions to dairy and gluten. He will get nauseous and his stomach expands to be visibly large.
His mother has also been told by his doctor that he is small for his age.

Educational History
Peter has attended Kindergarten at Hibbard Elementary and will begin first grade in the Fall. His
mother says he is successful across all subjects and has never seemed to struggle in any
particular one. He has had some speech therapy to resolve a mild lisp.

Observations

Oral Language
During observations at the park, he engaged in conversation with his siblings during play on the
swings and by the car. While at home, the examiners asked Peter many questions where they
received brief answers from him. He gave longer answers to some questions, such as why he
enjoyed a book. They asked twice for him to elaborate on why his favorite color was orange but
he would not answer. He talked with a lisp and did not always properly pronounce his words,
especially vowel and consonant combinations, as well as r’s or w’s. He told the examiners “I
don’t know” on some test questions.

Written Language
During observation at the park, Peter was seen tracing along the lines of text written on the play
structure. Peter was observed in the home using a correct pincer grasp while drawing. During
testing, Peter was observed using a correct pincer grasp. He wrote his letters all above the line
but the placement was occasionally incorrect. For example, the tail of his y’s and g’s did not fall
below the line. He also wrote some letters backwards.
Reading
During observation at the park, Peter looked over his mother’s shoulder while she used her
phone and looked a sheet of paper with writing on in it. In the home, Peter was asked to bring his
favorite book which he did so. He was asked to read it but said that he could not. After his denial
to read, he was asked to tell what the story was about and he retold the majority of the story to
the examiners. He said that he prefers to listen to stories by his mother or teacher.

Math
During observation, Peter was seen repeatedly counting aloud to three prior to pushing his
brother on the swing. During testing, Peter used his fingers to solve addition and subtraction
problems. He also whispered under his breath while using his fingers. He told examiners that he
did not like math. When solving problems on paper, he wrote his answers to the side of the
problem rather than below the line of the set-up problem. He did several math problems in his
head as well, and used his finger to count items in pictures.

Tests Administered

Woodcock Johnson IV - Standard Battery: administered on June 29, 2018 - This is a multi
subject test that measures cognitive abilities. It includes multiple intelligence tests, in the
categories of reading, written language, mathematics, and academic knowledge.

Oral and Written Language Scale (OWLS): administered on June 29, 2018 - This assessment
measure for language processes in the areas of listening comprehension, written expression and
oral expression.

Test Results
Woodcock Johnson Raw Score 95% Standard Percentile
IV Confidence Score/ Scaled Rank
Interval Score

Oral Language - - 101 35

Letter Word 20 91-100 95 9

Identification

Oral Reading 18 111-121 116 88

Written Expression - 80-103 91 8

Spelling 10 86-104 95 11

Passage 20 108-120 114 92

Comprehension

Sentence Writing 0 42-119 81 1

Fluency

Writing Samples 2 86-106 96 22

Reading - 91-106 98 50

Applied Problems 20 95-117 106 61

Word Attack 16 113-127 120 96

Sentence Reading 3 63-108 86 7

Fluency

Mathematics - 102-115 109 80

Calculation 16 110-122 116 95

 Math Facts Fluency 13 83-114 99 42

TOTAL TEST - 94-104 99 50

OWLS Raw Score 95% Standard Percentile

Confidence Score/V- Rank
Interval Scaled Score

Listening 49 88-116 102 55

Comprehension

Oral Expression 42 88-110 99 47

Written Expression 18 107-122 115 84

TOTAL TEST/ 316 97-113 63 63

Language
Composite

Interpretation

Oral Language
Based on the results of interviews, observations, and testing, Peter falls in the average range in
the oral language domain. When administered the Woodcock Johnson IV assessment, Peter
received a percentile rank of thirty-five, indicating that overall, he performed better than or equal
to thirty-five out of one-hundred other children represented in the norm group. When
administered the OWLS assessment, Peter received a percentile rank of forty-seven under oral
expression. During the test he was asked to give a sentence about various pictures shown. One
photo portrayed a young girl running and Peter gave the answer “a little girl is running.” These
results from testing are also consistent across interviews and observations. According to
interviews with his mother, Peter is hesitant to converse with strangers but will converse readily
with peers, family, friends, and acquaintances. He does not readily approach others in public
areas but is willing to interact with new acquaintances in more private settings. He does have a
slight lisp that can be heard in specific phonological sounds, causing him to speak softly.He got
slightly frustrated when the examiners asked him to repeat himself. This does not, however,
prevent him from communicating with others. Peter is expected to continue developing typically
in current academic setting.
Peter can consistently:
● Interact in full conversation and respond to questions
● Verbally express his likes and dislikes
● Verbally express emotions
Peter can partially:
● Understand academic words
● Engage in surrounding conversations
● Converse with adults comfortably
Peter cannot yet:
● Speak without mild lisp
● Pronounce complex words without hearing them first
● Use academic vocabulary in conversations

Written Language
Based on observations, interviews, and testing, Peter is functioning in the average range in the
written language domain. This data is not consistent across all sources. In testing according to
the Woodcock Johnson, he scored in the average range but only the eighth percentile, indicating
that he performs better than or equal to eight of his peers. This is a major discrepancy in the
testing data as Peter’s standard score indicates he falls in the average range for this domain.
Upon further testing, Peter scored in the eighty-fourth percentile on the OWL in written
expression, better than or equal to eighty-four of his peers. During the OWL test, he was asked to
write his first name. He wrote it correctly and capitalized the first letter of his name. Peter also
had to copy sentences that were given to him, he did so successfully on all of them. Both points
of data indicate that he performs in the average range overall for written language. Interviews
with his mother, as well as observations at home and during testing, indicate that Peter is capable
in his abilities to communicate written thoughts appropriately for his age. He can sound out
words and isolate sounds. He was observed drawing in the home and utilized a correct pincer
grasp. It is expected that he will continue to develop typically in his current academic placement.

Peter can consistently:

● Spell three-letter words
● Write simple sentences
● Differentiate between capital and lower
Peter can partially:
● Spell his name
● Use correct punctuation
● Write out spoken phrases.
Peter cannot yet:
● Write paragraphs
● Spell complex words
 ● Write complex sentences

Reading
Based on the results of interviews, observations, and testing, Peter falls in the average range in
the reading language domain, as seen consistently across all sources of data. When administered
the Woodcock Johnson IV assessment, Peter received a percentile rank of fifty, indicating that
overall, he performed better than or equal to fifty out of one hundred other children tested in the
norm group. The Woodcock Johnson IV included him reading a passage titled “A Story About
Bees.” He read the first two parts of the passage with less than 10 errors on each one. According
to interviews with his mother, Peter has favorite books and enjoys being read to by his mother.
During observation in the home, he shared his favorite book and used appropriate retell to share
key points of the text with the examiners during testing. While he lacks confidence in his ability
to read aloud, he demonstrated the ability to read familiar text as well as decipher simple text
during testing. It is expected that Peter will continue to function appropriately with regards to
reading in his current setting.

Peter can consistently:

● Read familiar words
● Identify letter words
● Utilize concepts of print to read text
Peter can partially:
● Sight read new words
● Correctly pronounce nonsense words
● Read short stories
Peter cannot yet:
● Read chapter books
● Read with confidence
● Read with correct prosody

Math
Based on the results of interviews, observations, and testing, Peter functions in the average
range in the math domain.When administered the Woodcock Johnson IV assessment, Peter
received a percentile rank of eighty, indicating that overall, he performed better than or equal to
eighty out of one hundred other children represented in the norm group. During the test he was
given pages of problems that he was asked to answer. Two examples that he got correctly were
9-3=6 and 12+4=16. This data is consistent across all sources. He was observed counting on his
fingers and aloud. While he may claim to dislike the subject in general, he is capable of solving
simple problems and meeting academic standards. It is expected that Peter continue to function
typically in the general education setting for mathematics.
Peter can consistently:
● Solve single-addition problems
● Solve single-digit subtraction problems
● Count to ten
Peter can partially:
● Count without using his fingers
● Solve double-digit addition problems
● Solve double-digit subtraction problems
Peter cannot yet:
● Solve multi-digit problems higher than twenty
● Use multiplication and division
● Use fractions or decimals

Recommendation
After conducting interviews, observation, and testing, it is recommended that Peter continue in
the normal educational setting. While his age falls within part B of IDEA, he does not qualify for
services because he does not perform at least two standard deviations below the mean in any
educational domain. Nor does he perform two standard deviations above the mean in any
domain, which would qualify him for gifted and talented. Peter was found to be within the
average range across all of the four educational domains of oral language, written language,
reading, and math. As such, Peter is not found to be eligible for services provided under the
Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA).

For the Professionals:

● Provide him with speech therapy for one hour a week.
● Monitor educational progress and suggest tutoring to parents if necessary.
● Engage in appropriate RTI screening to improve achievement in academic areas as
needed.
For the Parents:
● Encourage him to write about his day in a journal.
● Apply mathematical problem solving in daily situations.
● Read with Peter at home and have him read to you for at least 20 minutes a day.
For the Classroom:
● Keep Peter in his general education setting.
● Provide opportunities for Peter to participate in group activities.
● Use engaging activities in all academic areas to encourage higher levels of engagement in
class activities and learning.
Summary
Peter is a typically developing child who is the result of a normal vaginal birth despite
complications during pregnancy. He lives with both his parents and his six siblings. He has
attended Kindergarten as well as some speech therapy. He functions in the average range in all
academic areas, specifically oral language, written language, reading, and math. He speaks with
a mild lisp but is comfortable conversing with peers. He can copy written sentences but struggles
to write oral phrases correctly. He can successfully read short words and retell familiar stories
with accuracy. He can solve addition and subtraction problems using fingers and counting aloud.
Because of his average level of functioning in all academic areas, it is recommended that Peter
remain the in the general education classroom as he does not qualify for any special services.
Recommendations for Peter include further speech therapy to resolve his lisp as well as
promoting engagement in discussion groups.