Oral Reading Skills and Comprehension Test-II (SOBAT®-II): Assessment of reading fluency and comprehension of Turkish students with specific learning disabilities

Efforts to diagnose students with specific learning disabilities (SLD) have increased in recent years in Turkey. However, the limited number of assessment tools used to identify students with SLD is one of the most important concerns in this area, since 8 out of 10 students with SLD have difficulty in reading, which affects other academic areas. Considering reading performance scores from standardised reading tests may help eliminate difficulties in SLD assessment. Reading problems are often observed with or without SLD, especially in primary and middle school age groups. However, standardised reading tests are usually not used in screening and diagnosis of these children, and in planning, monitoring, and evaluation of the effectiveness of reading intervention programmes in Turkey. The purpose of the study reported on here was to provide findings of a project that was carried out to develop a standardised reading test, SOBAT®-II, for the assessment of reading and reading comprehension skills development of children with SLD between 7 and 14 years of age. A total of 1,133 test administrations were performed within the scope of this study. As a result of this study, the Oral Reading Skills and Comprehension Test (SOBAT®), of which the preliminary study was conducted between 2002 and 2012, was expanded to include children between the ages of 7 and 14, and the parallel form of the test, A and B, was formed. In future studies,expanding the number and diversity of the sample by including students from different provinces, and adding motivation resources to increase voluntary participation may be beneficial for standardisation of the test. Keywords: comprehension; fluency; reading; SOBAT®-II; special education; specific learning disabilities; test developmen

Availability of and access to career development activities for transition-aged youth with disabilities. Career Development for Exceptional Individuals

Abstract Equipping youth with and without disabilities for the world of work has been the focus of ongoing legislative and policy initiatives. The authors examined the extent to which career development and vocational activities were available to and accessed by youth with severe disabilities or emotional and behavioral disorders attending 34 urban, suburban, and rural high schools. Although school-level representatives (e.g., administrators, guidance counselors, student services directors) identified an array of career development opportunities offered by their schools, participation by youth with disabilities in these experiences was reported to be fairly limited. Potential factors influencing the participation of youth included disabilityrelated needs and limited professional development opportunities for educators. The authors present recommendations for improving research and practice aimed at better preparing youth with disabilities for their future careers