Intervening to Give Educators the Cognitive Skill Tools They Need
for Better Recognition of Learning Styles
and the Learning Capacity of Individual Students
Typical IQ testing provides a composite of several cognitive-skill groups, but can be very misleading because it can mask individual weak cognitive skills. Countless children with average IQ scores are denied much needed assistance when they have one or more weak cognitive skills that make learning difficult or impossible. The first step in education to correct this is to provide a comprehensive cognitive-skill assessment for every student not just struggling students.
However, the current educational paradigm has not been prepared to accomplish this task. The current tools used in evaluation are resource-intensive and limited in use. Testing is primarily offered to determine eligibility for special education resources for only those children who have demonstrated learning difficulties. Unfortunately, most children are not tested, so any weaknesses in their cognitive skills are unlikely to be addressed.
CF equates cognitive-skill screening to vision and hearing screening. Students should be screened (tested) to determine their learning capacity profile in the same manner they are tested for vision or hearing problems.
CF, through its associations, is providing access to assess students. Similar to other standardized tests that measure cognitive skills such as the Woodcock Johnson III Cognitive Battery, the assessment being offered has gone through several stages of validation and correlation. Measurements of its ongoing effectiveness are continually being conducted.
This assessment is not intended to diagnose, but rather provides a baseline to measure progress and inform parents, teachers, and children. By knowing the strengths and weaknesses of every student’s cognitive skills, organizations, parents and teachers can then take the next step with qualified, struggling students and employ an exercise program to “train their brain.”
With cognitive evaluation and intervention, students can develop the full potential of their learning skills and be prepared to achieve a higher level of academic performance.
