Students with learning disabilities who are requesting support services from Villanova University’s Learning Support Services Office should submit documentation to verify eligibility under the Americans with Disabilities Act and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. The following guidelines are provided to ensure that the documentation is complete and appropriate.

1. The documentation should include a diagnosis of Learning Disability and the rationale of this diagnosis.

2. The diagnosis should be made by a licensed or certified professional and/or someone trained in psycho educational assessment.

3. The evaluation information should be current and relevant to the setting.

4. The assessment battery should include a cognitive evaluation (WAIS-III or WJ-R) and achievement battery and the following information:

• The names of the assessment instruments used
• The quantitative and qualitative information that supports the diagnosis
• The severity of the condition
• The areas of educational impact
• Additional observations that would assist in meeting the individual needs of the student
• The names, titles, addresses, telephone and fax numbers of the evaluators as well as the date(s) of testing

In addition, specific recommendations for accommodations (with explanation of how the need is substantiated through testing) will be helpful in assigning accommodations for the student.

Possible Tests for Assessing Adolescents and Adults

When selecting a battery of  tests, it is critical to consider the technical adequacy of instruments, including their reliability, validity, and standardization on an appropriate norm group. The professional judgment of an evaluator in choosing tests is important. The following list is provided as a helpful resource but is not intended to be definitive or exhaustive.

Aptitude/Cognitive Ability

• Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale – III (WAIS – III)
• Woodcock Johnson –R – Tests of Cognitive Ability
• Kaufman Adolescent and Adult Intelligence Test
• Stanford Binet IV

The Slosson Intelligence Test – R and the Kaufman Brief Intelligence Test are primarily screening devices which are not comprehensive enough to provide the kinds of information necessary to make accommodation(s) decisions.

Academic Achievement

• Scholastic Aptitude Test for Adults (SATA)
• Stanford Test of Academic Skills (TASK)
• Woodcock-Johnson III – Tests of Achievement
• Wechsler Individual Achievement Test (WIAT)

Or specific achievement tests such as

• Nelson Denny Reading Test
• Stanford Diagnostic Mathematics Test
• Test of Written Language – 3 (TOWL-3)
• Woodcock Reading Mastery Tests – Revised

Specific achievement test are useful instruments when administered under standardized conditions and when the results are interpreted within the context of other diagnostic information. The Wide Range Achievement Test -3(WRAT-3) is not a comprehensive measure of achievement and therefore should not be used as the sole measure of achievement.

Information Processing

Acceptable instruments include, but are not limited to: Detroit Tests of Learning Aptitude -3 (DTLA-3) or Detroit Tests of Learning Aptitude – Adult (DTLS-A). Information from subtests on WAIS-R or Woodcock-Johnson – Tests of Cognitive Ability, as well as other relevant instruments, may be useful when interpreted within the context of other diagnostic information.