Issue #8 – “How To” Series

In This Issue:

How To Write and Educational Report Part I

&

How To Write an Educational Report Part II

How To Write and Educational Report Part I

REPORT WRITING

Many different professionals may provide input in the assessment of a child with a suspected disability. From this input, a comprehensive report based on the findings must be written. The purpose of this report is to communicate results in such a way that the reader will understand the rationale behind the recommendations and will be able to use the recommendations as practical guidelines for intervention. This report may be presented to the parent, sent to an outside doctor or agency, or presented to the eligibility committee. In any case, the report needs to be professional, comprehensive, and practical.

Writing a good report is a real skill. The fact is, all the wonderful data collection becomes useless if it cannot be interpreted and explained in a clear and concise manner. Being too general or explaining results poorly creates many problems and confusion for readers. Also, citing numerous general recommendations will not be practical for the school, teacher, or parents. Writing a report that contains jargon that no one other than you understands is also useless. Completing an extremely lengthy report in an attempt to be too comprehensive will result only in losing your reader. As you review each section in this chapter, you may wish to refer to the example report extracts we have provided.

 

PRACTICAL GUIDELINES FOR REPORT WRITING

When writing a report, the key is to be as comprehensive as possible while being clear and concise. To do this effectively, it is important to understand some very practical guidelines, including those listed below.

Write the Report in the Third Person. Never write “I think” or “If it were up to me.” This is not a term paper but rather a legal document. As such, the professional approach is to remain in the third person. Use phrases such as

• According to the examiner
• It was felt that
• There seems to be
• It is the professional opinion of this evaluator that

Single-Space Your Report to Condense the Length. A report of three to five pages is not overwhelming. There are several suggestions throughout this chapter on how to break up the report so that the format is very easy on the reader.

In general, try to separate your recommendation section into three parts to make it easy for a reader to follow the recommendations. To allow interested parties to see their responsibilities, the three parts should be addressed to

• The school
• The teacher
• The parents

Use the Past Tense as Often as Possible. Because the data are already collected and you have done the assessment, the use of the past tense is most appropriate.

• On the Reading subtest, Jared scored in the 95th percentile.
• During testing, Tamika exhibited shyness.
• Throughout the interview, David showed no signs of hyperactivity.
• Sonya appeared to lack confidence when doing tasks that required hand–eye coordination.

Underline, Bold, or Italicize Paragraph Headings So They Stand Out and Are Easy to Locate. When you create a new section in your report, format it so that the reader knows that this starts a different area of the report. Separate sections (e.g., Reason for Referral and Background History) with extra “white space.”

Write Reports Using Complete Sentences. A report should never read like a telegram. Be sure all sentences make sense. Always check spelling and grammar to make sure there are no errors. Nothing is more unprofessional than a report that looks sloppy and has many mistakes.

 

CRITERIA FOR WRITING A COMPREHENSIVE REPORT

Now that you have some practical guidelines to follow, take a comprehensive look at each specific section. Reports can be written in many ways, and report format is decided by the personal choice of the examiner, the supervisor, or the district. However, it is important not to overlook certain information. What follows is one suggested outline and sections that would meet all the criteria for a professional and comprehensive report. We will now look at each section of a report following along with a 5^th grade student who was evaluated. The final report at the end will contain all the sections discussed in this chapter.

 

Section I: Identifying Data

The first section is called Identifying Data and contains all the necessary basic information about the child. This section is important to the reader, especially if further contact is required. It allows the reader to have all the basic information in one place. The parts of this section include:

Name of Student:School:

Address:Teacher:

Referred by:

Phone:

Date of Testing:

Date of Birth:

Date of Report:

Grade:

Chronological Age:

Parent’s Names:

Examiner:

 

For example, in a model report, the first section might be completed as follows:

Name of Student: Jessica Willow                             School: Meadow Lane

 

Address: 31 Apple Tree Rd                                          Teacher: Mrs.Gaines

Mineola, N.Y.

Referred by: Child Study Team

Phone: 742-1097

Date of Testing: March 22, 23, 2011

Date of Birth: 1/9/2000

Date of Report: April 1, 2011

Grade: 5

Chronological Age: 11-2

Parent’s Names: John/Patricia

Examiner: Ms. Tracy Doe

Although most of this information is usually found in school records, having it all in one place will save time. Make sure that the date/s of testing and the date of the report are always included for comparisons. Some evaluations are finished several months before the report is typed, and the scores can be misleading if the reader assumes that they represent the child’s present levels on the date of the report when they may really be reflective of ability levels in prior months. It is always more acceptable when the two dates are within one month of each other. Also keep in mind that the chronological age (CA) is at the time of initial testing and is presented in years and months, for example, 11-2 (see Chapter 5).

 

Section II: Reason for Referral

The second section is called Reason for Referral and explains to the reader the specific reasons the evaluation is taking place. It should not be longer than two to three sentences, but should be comprehensive enough to clarify the purpose. The following are some examples of this section:

Reason for Referral

• Jessica was referred for a comprehensive assessment as the result of a suspected disability.

 

Other examples may include:

• Jarmel was referred by his teacher for an evaluation as a result of inconsistent academic performance and poor social skills.
• Mary was referred by her parents for an evaluation in order to determine if a learning disability was interfering with her ability to learn.
• Benjamin is being tested as part of the triennial evaluation.
• Peter was referred by the child study team in order to determine his present intellectual, academic, and perceptual levels.

This section should not contain a great deal of parent or teacher information. There may be a tendency here to bring in other information to substantiate the reason for the evaluation. Avoid this, and keep it short and to the point. Substantiation for this referral is part of another section that offers a more detailed explanation of the child.

 

Section III: Background History

The next section is called Background History, and it contains a very thorough description of the child’s family history, developmental history, academic history, and social history (refer to the parent intake form in Chapter 8).

This general section is very comprehensive and establishes a foundation for what will follow. If you suspect a disability that may have historical features, then you need to present the development of this disability and its interfering factors in depth. The reader should come away from the section seeing the substantiation for a suspected disability. Certain areas should always be covered in the Background History section, as shown in the following paragraphs.

Family History

A family history provides the reader with a general understanding of the family structure, siblings, parental perceptions, and so on. Examples of sentences that would appear in this section include the following:

• Jessica and her family are living on the first floor of Mrs. Willow’s mother’s house, and her mother occupies the upstairs space. Jessica has two sisters who both live with her named Margaret and Mary.

Other examples may include:

• Jacob lives at home with his mother and a younger brother, Jon. His parents are divorced and Jacob has no contact with his father.
• Rosa lives at home with her father, mother, and two older sisters.
• Julie is an only child who was adopted at the age of six months by her parents, Ted and Jane. She knows that she is adopted and has never had any contact with her biological parents.

 

Developmental History

The purpose of a developmental history is to give the reader any relevant background history pertaining to developmental milestones. This section need not read like a hospital report but should contain the basic developmental history. Examples of sentences that would appear in this section include the following:

• Mrs. Willow indicated that Jessica was the result of a full-term pregnancy. However, it was a difficult birth because she needed a forceps delivery due to the umbilical cord complications.

Other examples may include:

• All of Julio’s developmental milestones were reached in the normal limits.
• Yolanda started to talk only at 2 years of age and received early intervention to help her with language ability.
• Mike had many ear infections during the first year of life and needed tubes put in when he was 13 months of age.
• Emily started to walk later than the norms, as she started at 21 months of age.

 

Academic History

An academic history section provides the reader with relevant academic performance during the child’s school years. If you suspect a learning disability, then the academic section must be extensive. Trace the child’s educational performance as far back as possible and establish the consistency of the pattern to the reader. Include all pertinent academic information such as past teacher comments, grades, attendance, group scores, and the like. Lead the reader grade by grade in establishing a pattern of concern or a pattern that may rule out a specific type of suspected disability. Example sentences used in this section might read as follows:

• Jessica has always done poorly in math and has never received a grade of higher than C in this subject throughout her educational career.
• Laura’s first-grade teacher reported that she had great difficulty in the area of spelling.
• Justin’s reading scores on the ABC National Standardized Test were well below the norm (8th percentile) when he took it two years ago in the fourth grade.

 

Social History

A social history provides the reader with an understanding of the child in his social world. Group participation, organizations, hobbies, interests, interaction with peers, social style, and so forth should all be discussed. Examples of sentences that would appear in this section include the following:

• Mrs. Linus, Jessica’s kindergarten teacher indicated that socially Jessica got along well with the other children in the class. Although she was not a very active participant, she was well liked by the other children who reached out to her a great deal.

Other examples may include:

• According to Tomas, he enjoys playing baseball and hanging out with his friends at the mall.
• Karen reported that she has no friends and does not participate in any extracurricular activities.
• Ted is the eleventh-grade class president of his school and plays on the junior varsity basketball and varsity baseball teams.

 

Parent’s Perception of the Problem

The parent’s will need to be asked their perception of the problems their child is having in school. For example:

According to Mrs. Willow, she too struggled when she was younger with learning but grew out of it over time. It did however affect her self esteem. She thinks that Jessica has learning problems like she had, but isn’t classified yet.

When the Background History section is complete, it should provide the reader with a clear understanding of the child and his or her world at the present time.

 

Section IV: Behavioral Observations

The fourth section is called Behavioral Observations and may include the write up from several types of meeting you may have with the child. For instance there may be three possible times when you interact or observe the child:

Classroom Observation: If you do the classroom observation you will need to write up a short summary of the findings in this section.

Initial interview with the student: You should have a brief interview with the student prior to starting the assessment. This will allow you to see the child in a different manner and may provide some valuable information. During this time you should also note any areas of anxiety, resistance, opposition, etc. This will also have to be written up and would be another paragraph in this section.

Behavior during testing: The third possible time is when you test the child and write up a description of the child’s behavior during the testing sessions. This can be a very important section because it may reinforce what is seen in the class or be very different, in which case the structure of the testing environment should be explored for clues to learning style. Here, for the first time, you are providing the reader with your professional and firsthand observation of this child in a controlled setting. This type of structure provides a great deal of valuable information that may be later transferred to recommendations about the way the child learns best. Examples of sentences that would appear in this section include the following:

• Jamal approached the testing situation in a reluctant and hesitant manner.
• During testing, it was evident that Hannah was frustrated with many of the reading tasks.
• Throughout the assessment, Keith appeared anxious and nervous, as he was biting his nails and always asking whether his answers were correct.

 

Section V: Tests and Procedures Administered

The next section is called Tests and Procedures Administered. This includes a simple list of the individual tests included in the test battery and any procedures used to enhance the report, such as classroom observation, review of records, and parent intake. Do not use abbreviations when referring to test names except to add them after the name of each specific test—for example, Wide Range Achievement Test–4th Edition (WRAT-4). No further explanation is required here other than a list. This section will vary depending on the professional doing the evaluation. For example, the educational evaluator’s list of tests and procedures administered may look like this:

• Classroom observation
• Interview with child
• Parent interview
• Review of records
• Wechsler Individualized Achievement Test–3rd Edition (WIAT–III)

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How To Write an Educational Report

Part II

 

Section VI: Test Results

The sixth section, Test Results, is crucial because it analyzes the results of each test and looks at the child’s individual performance on each measure. There are several approaches to this section, but the two most widely used are test-by-test analysis and content area by content area analysis. The approach chosen is the personal choice and preference of the examiner.

A test-by-test approach separately analyzes the child’s performance on each test. It analyzes the results of the different subtests and provides indications of strengths and weaknesses, manner of approach, and indications of whether the scores on the specific test should be considered valid. In this section, the first paragraph of each test analyzed usually contains all the basic score information provided by that specific test: grade levels, age levels, percentiles, stanines, and ranges. It should not contain raw scores or other statistical information not meaningful to the reader. The next several paragraphs under each test normally describe the subtest performance, patterns, strengths and weaknesses, and child’s style in handling the task. Information on whether the scores should be considered a valid indicator is provided. For example, if a child refuses to do more than two problems and receives a low score due to giving up or an unwillingness to venture a guess, it is important to inform the reader that the score may be misleading and may not reflect the child’s true ability.

A content area by content area approach takes all the reading, math, spelling, writing, visual, auditory, and motor tests from each evaluation measure and analyzes the results separately by content area. The examiner analyzes each content area in hopes of establishing patterns of strengths and weaknesses. For example, deficient scores on all tests of reading comprehension may establish a pattern of disability, especially if they are discrepant from the child’s ability levels. However, extremely high scores on some tests of comprehension and low scores on others need to be explained to the reader. Here are the key steps to follow in the Test Results section. Italicized writing indicates the information you might type in a particular step.

However, there may be times when you are asked to provide detailed academic levels and may only need to use a comprehensive test like the Wechsler Individual Achievement Test-3^rd edition. In our example, we will use the WIAT-III to show how the results may be written.

WRITING TEST RESULTS

Step 1. Write out the name of the test.

Wechsler Individualized Achievement Test, 3rd Edition

Step 2. Create a table (Standard Score, Classification, and Percentile).

 

Name of Subtest	Standard Score	Classification/Range	Nat. Percentile Rank
Listening Comp.	114	Above Average	82
Reading Comp.	118	Above Average	88
Math Prob. Solving	76	Well Below Average	14
Sentence Composition	77	Well Below Average	11
Word Reading	118	Above Average	83
Essay Composition	70	Well Below Average	10
Pseudoword Decoding	113	Above Average	81
Numerical Operations	77	Well Below Average	13
Oral Expression	111	Above Average	77
Oral Reading Fluency	118	Above Average	82
Spelling	80	Low Average	12
Math Fluency-Add.	77	Well Below Average	13
Math Fluency-Sub.	76	Well Below Average	12
Math Fluency-Multip.	77	Well Below Average	13

Step 3. Write a brief 1- or 2-sentence statement about what each subtest measures, the student’s standard score, classification, and percentile for each subtest. You are reiterating what is stated on the table. An example write-up of this section for the WIAT-III may look like this (This can is obtained through the Examiner’s Manual.)

The Listening Comprehension subtest of the WIAT-III measures the student’s ability to listen for details. On this subtest Jessica performed in the above average range, earning her a standard score of 114. As indicated by her percentile rank of 82, Jessica performed as well or better than 82 percent of all students when compared to the norms for her age.

On the Reading Comprehension subtest of the WIAT-III students must read a sentence or passage and then answer questions orally to measure their comprehension. On this subtest Jessica’s performance was in the above average range, earning her a standard score of 118. As indicated by her percentile rank of 88, Jessica performed as well or better than 88 percent of all students when compared to the norms for her age. Her scores represent a significant strength.

The Math Problem Solving asks students to solve math word problems, involving areas such as the basic operations of time, money, and interpreting graphs. On this subtest Jessica’s performance was in the Well Below Average range, earning her a standard score of 76. As indicated by her percentile rank of 14, Jessica performed as well or better than 14 percent of all students when compared to the norms for her age. Her scores represent a significant weakness.

On the Sentence Composition subtest the student is asked to take two or more separate sentences and write one good sentence that means the same thing. On this subtest Jessica performed in the Well Below Average range earning her a standard scorer or 77. As indicated by her percentile rank of 11, Jessica performed as well or better than 11 percent of all students when compared to the norms for her age.

The Word Reading subtest of the WIAT-III assesses the student’s ability to read familiar words aloud from a list. Both accuracy and speed of response are measured. On this subtest Jessica performed in the above average range, earning her a standard score of 118. As indicated by her percentile rank of 83, Jessica performed as well or better than 83 percent of all students when compared to the norms of her age.

On the Essay Composition subtest the student is asked to write an essay about his or her favorite game, including 3 reasons why. On this subtest Jessica performed in the Well Below Average range earning her a standard score of 70. As indicated by her percentile rank of 10, Jessica performed as well or better than 10 percent of all students when compared to the norms of her age.

The Pseudoword Decoding subtest of the WIAT-III assesses the student’s ability to apply phonetic decoding skills. On this subtest Jessica performed in the above average range, earning her a standard score of 113. As indicated by her percentile rank of 81, Jessica performed as well or better than 81 percent of all students when compared to the norms for her age.

The Numerical Operations subtest of the WIAT-III evaluates the student’s ability to identify and write dictated numerals and solve written calculation problems and equations involving all basic operations. On this subtest Jessica performed in the Well Below Average range earning her a standard score of 77. As indicate by her percentile rank of 13, Jessica performed as well or better than 13 percent of all students when compared to the norms for her age.

The Oral Expression of the WIAT-III subtest measures the student’s ability to repeat sentences, generate lists of specific kinds of words, describe pictured scenes, and describe pictured activities. Content of answers is scored, but quality of spoken language is not. On this subtest Jessica performed in the above average earning her a standard score of 111. As indicated by her percentile rank of 77, Jessica performed as well or better than 77 percent of all students when compared to the norms for her age.

The Oral Reading Fluency subtest measures the accuracy, rate, ease, and rhythm with which a person reads. On this subtest Jessica performed in the above average range earning her a standard score of 118. As indicated by her percentile rank of 82, Jessica performed as well or better than 82 percent of all students when compared to the norms for her age.

The Spelling subtest of the WIAT-III measures the student’s ability to spell by a word by its meaning in a sentence. On this subtest Jessica performed in the low average range earning her a standard score of 80. As indicated by her percentile rank of 12, Jessica performed as well or better than 12 percent of all students when compared to the norms for her age.

On the Math Fluency-Addition subtest, the student solves as many simple addition problems as he/she can in one minute. On this subtest Jessica performed in the Well Below Average range earning her a standard score of 77. As indicated by her percentile rank of 13, Jessica performed as well or better than 13 percent of all students when compared to the norms fro her age.

On the Math Fluency-Subtraction subtest, the student solves as many simple subtraction problems as he/she can in one minute. On this subtest Jessica performed in the Well Below Average range earning her a standard score of 76. As indicated by her percentile rank of 12, Jessica performed as well or better than 12 percent of all students when compared to the norms for her age.

On the Math Fluency-Multiplication subtest, the student solves as many simple multiplication problems as he/she can in one minute. On this subtest Jessica performed in the Well Below Average range earning her a standard score of 77. As indicated by her percentile rank of 13, Jessica performed as well or better than 13 percent of all students when compared to the norms for her age.

 

Section VII: Conclusions

The Conclusions section is probably the essence of the report. Here the examiner explains in very simple terms to the reader the trends in the child’s testing results that may indicate academic strengths and weaknesses, modality strengths and weaknesses, process strengths and weaknesses, and overall diagnosis and level of severity of the problem areas indicated. It is not a restatement of the test results section but a summary of overall performance.

1. State the name of the student, age, grade, and the reason for referral.

Jessica Willow is an 11 year fifth grade girl who was administered the WIAT-III for the purposes of assessing her academic achievement.

2. In the next sentence, discuss strengths.

Jessica Willow is an 11 year fifth grade girl who was administered the WIAT-III for the purposes of assessing her academic achievement.Results of the WIAT-III indicated that Jessica obtained above average scores in listening comprehension (82%), reading comprehension (88%),

3. The next few sentences discuss weaknesses.

Jessica Willow is an 11 year fifth grade girl who was administered the WIAT-III for the purposes of assessing her academic achievement.Results of the WIAT-III indicated that Jessica obtained above average scores in listening comprehension (82%), reading comprehension (88%),

Jessica’s deficit areas indicated that she obtained scores within the low average range in pseudoword decoding (81%) and spelling (12%). She also scored within the Well Below Average range in math problem solving (14%)…

4.Add a sentence about the level of severity of the student’s profile:

Results of testing, observation, history and interviews all seem to indicate that Jessica’s pattern is similar to children with moderate to severe learning disabilities.

Section VIII: Recommendations

The last section of the report is probably the most valuable section for the reader— Recommendations. It should contain practical recommendations that will bring some hope and direction for the identified problem areas. Keep in mind that the recommendations should be practical enough and explained in such a way that the reader will have no problem following through. The most important aspect of a recommendation is that it will need to answer the question “Why” and “How”. For example, a recommendation to a parent of “Try to spend more time with Jessica” is useless. It provides the reader with no direction or specifics. Instead, a recommendation such as “It is suggested that Mr. and Mrs. Willow read at home with Jessica in unison. By this, we mean that both the parent and Jessica have the same book and read aloud together so that she receives constant auditory feedback.” This recommendation answers why we are suggesting it and how to do it. This more detailed recommendation provides the reader with specific direction.

Try to separate the recommendations into the following three sections:

1. 1. Recommendations to the school: This section might contain suggestions such as further testing from other professionals on staff, vision or hearing tests by the school nurse, recommendation for a review by the eligibility committee, remedial reading assistance, or an ESL evaluation.
2. 2. Recommendations to the teacher: This section should contain useful information for the teacher including an indication of the conditions under which the child learns best. The teacher is probably mainly interested in “What do I do to help the child learn?” Keep in mind that even before you begin the evaluation process, you should ask the teacher what he or she has already tried in an attempt to alleviate the problems. This should be done so that your recommendations do not include suggestions already attempted by the teacher. Doing this will avoid having your recommendations being viewed as “nothing I haven’t already tried before.”
3. 3. Recommendations to the parent: This part should be very practical, direct, and diplomatic. The suggestions should also be inclusive enough to answer the questions “why” and “how” so that parents do not have to interpret them. Finally, each subsection should contain recommendations in priority order. Try to number each recommendation separately for purposes of clarity. For examples of recommendations to the school, parents, and teachers, see the following model report.

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