WARNING
Why choose ‘Spot-Your-Potential’?
How accurate?
How does it work?
Screening Vs. assessment
References
How accurate?
The dyslexia tests in ‘Spot-Your-Potential’ are drawn from LADS Plus, a computer-based screening system created by Lucid and which is widely used by colleges, universities, business and many other organisations. These tests were developed to the highest psychometric criteria and have been scientifically validated against groups of adults who had been assessed by chartered psychologists and diagnosed either dyslexic or not dyslexic. The ‘Spot Your Potential’ tests showed a high degree of agreement with the psychologist’s assessments and therefore it can be conclude that ‘Spot Your Potential’ has a high level of screening accuracy. These findings have gone through independent scrutiny and were published in international peer-reviewed scientific journals, and other independent published evaluations have also shown that the tests in ‘Spot Your Potential’ are more accurate than other methods of screening for dyslexia. See references
However, as is the case with all screening tests, accuracy is not 100% – in fact, it is about 95% – hence there will inevitably be a small proportion (on average, about 5%) of individuals whose screening results may differ from results of diagnostic assessment.
How does it work?
The dyslexia tests in ‘Spot-Your-Potential’ involve reading and spelling, but they are not conventional tests of reading and spelling – they are more efficient and effective than these at identifying dyslexia. This is because they are specially developed tests that identify the underlying cognitive patterns which typically characterise dyslexia. This is based on the phonological deficit theory of dyslexia, which is currently the most widely accepted scientific view. According to this theory, which is supported by a large amount of scientific evidence, the principal difficulty in dyslexia is dealing with the way that language sounds are processed, organised and learned. However, as well as identifying phonological difficulties, ‘Spot-Your-Potential’ also picks up memory problems and speed-of-processing deficits, which research indicates are additional important factors in dyslexia. For further information, see ‘What is dyslexia?'
'Spot-Your-Potential’ also automatically adjusts to the general ability level of the person, so the tests are largely free of effects by intelligence, education or social and ethnic background. This makes ‘Spot-Your-Potential’ the most reliable online test of its kind. The accuracy of other screeners can be confounded by levels of intelligence and/or education, and by different social or ethnic backgrounds.
The vast majority of dyslexics have the most common phonological form of the condition or a mixed form in which phonological difficulties are found alongside other problems. However, a small proportion of dyslexics have difficulties that are predominantly visual rather than phonological and therefore ‘Spot-Your-Potential’ is less likely to pick up those rare individuals, who are advised to consult a an experienced and appropriately qualified professional for assessment. The British Dyslexia Association can advise on this.
Screening Vs. Assessment
Screening is a quick process that categorises people into groups – dyslexic or not dyslexic – and will give a reasonably good indication of whether the person is likely to have dyslexia. Screening can be computerised and performance based, requiring no involvement of human judgement, and therefore is comparatively low-cost. However, dyslexia is not a true categorical condition (i.e. it is not simply ‘black or white’). Dyslexia is actually a continuum and there are wide variations in the extent to which different people show the effects of dyslexia. In addition, definitions of dyslexia can vary, even between experts. Consequently, no dyslexia screening test can ever be 100% accurate – there will always be a ‘grey’ area where categorisation can never be completely certain. Screening should not be regarded as a substitute for more comprehensive assessment. For further information on the accuracy of ‘Spot-Your-Potential’ see ‘How accurate?’
Assessment is a much lengthier, complex process by which a diagnosis of dyslexia is reached. This requires use of several tests, usually takes several hours and requires the judgment of an experienced and appropriately qualified professional. For these reasons, assessment is usually very expensive. However, there is no definitive or universally accepted method of diagnosing dyslexia nor a generally agreed set of tests for dyslexia. This means that even amongst qualified professionals, opinions sometimes differ not only regarding what are the best or most appropriate tests to use, but also what results genuinely indicate dyslexia.
References
Nichols, S. A., McLeod, J. S., Holder, R. L., & McLeod, H.S. T. (2009) Screening for dyslexia, dyspraxia and Meares-Irlen syndrome in higher education. Dyslexia, 15(1), 42-60.
For the scientific basis and other references for Lucid products see www.lucid-research.com
