ALDA

SLOSSON PLUS

by Thomas D. Gnagey and Patricia A. Gnagey

Grade: Kindergarten – High School (most reliable for ages 8-14)
Administration: 75 minutes in one or more sessions. Individual

Purpose: Measures student ability in 77 skills to create individual learning plan.

The ALDA was designed specifically to match the student’s unique learning style with the most effective method of learning. It tests the 77 skills which underlie the basic school subjects. Each subtest taps a discreet learning process called a Unit Skill. Each neuropsychological Unit Skill is a small, practically functional skill unit of brain processing, such as sound blending and visual figure-ground discrimination.

The ALDA analyzes Reading, Spelling, Math Computation, and Handwriting into the several diverse ways which, according to recent neuropsychological research, a student’s brain seems to be able to go about learning each. It matches the strengths and weaknesses of the student’s underlying skills with that student’s most appropriate learning method for each school subject – 11 reading methods, 23 spelling methods, 6 math computation methods, and 8 handwriting methods. The learning methods are ranked in order with the most effective and efficient being numbered one and the higher numbers being the most time consuming.

The results are quickly transformed onto the accompanying multipage Recommendation Pamphlet, creating an individualized teaching plan providing specific procedures and methods for the students. The beginning section of the pamphlet is devoted to how the student can function best in the general classroom no matter what the activity or subject. It proceeds to the specific recommendations for each subject area. Most often, these recommendations fit into established classroom procedures. The special education teacher can take the results of each subtest and know where to begin remedial work, as well as have an indication of just how strong or weak each skill is at that time.