Evaluation of academic skills in lower secondary school. A test battery for group assessment among Italians, bilinguals, and pupils with learning difficulties (Special Educational Needs and Specific Learning Disorders)
Roberto Padovani, Stefania Casini, Alfia Valenti, Christine Cavallari, Giovanni Bigi, Manuela Mussini, Francesco Orlando
We are presenting a study on group assessment of academic skills in secondary school. Italian and bilingual students (n = 1,420) with typical development or learning difficulties (Special Educational Needs and Specific Learning Disorders) completed a test battery assessing reading (Word chain, Lexical decision task, Text comprehension), writing (Text copying) and mathematical abilities (Rapid calculation and Written operations). Results show significant group differences for all of the administered tasks, with better performances for typical development students compared to pupils with learning difficulties. Italian students generally outperformed bilinguals. Normative data together with sensitivity and specificity values are presented.
Keywords
Screening on Specific Learning Disorders, group assessment of academic skills, Special Educational Needs, Specific Learning Disorders.