Assessment of Dyslexia - Why, When, and with What?

The fact that researchers have not been able to reach consensus about what constitutes dyslexia, may lead to inconsistency in the operational definitions of the measures used to assess dyslexia, which in turn jeopardizes the validity of these assessments. As this has potential negative consequences for children in need of remedial reading instruction, the purpose of this study was to examine the procedures for assessing dyslexia, including diagnostic criteria and test battery used. Participants were 118 employees (responsible for dyslexia assessment) at Educational-psychological services (EPSs) in South-Eastern Norway who answered a survey consisting of 19 questions about assessment procedures in their school district. Results showed that a majority (102) of the EPSs emphasized findings from one test battery (Logos) in the assessment work. Further, 71% of participants reported that schools in their school district used a reading assessment which does not have enough documentation of psychometric properties.