Diagnostic assessment for exams, DSA and peace of mind
What happens in the assessment?
1 - We talk about your experience of study, what you find easy and what you feel stands in your way.
2 - We do some tests - reading, writing, general ability, listening, memory - to get hard evidence of your style.
3 - I put it all together to make a profile of how you study, then write you a report that you can use as evidence.
Questions that crop up
Tests? What tests?
These are not tests that you pass or fail. We use them to measure how difficult or easy you find some aspect of study.
We do the tests in a quiet, private setting and we take as many breaks as you need.
Most people find the tests painless - some people even enjoy them!
Who sees my Report?
The report belongs to you. It’s fully confidential and it’s up to you who gets to see it.
The report is valid for your lifetime. It’s your evidence if you want to prove that you need arrangements like extra time in exams, or if you need some kind of adjustment or special tech in your workplace.
Why get assessed?
Some people need evidence to get exam arrangements, such as extra time or use of a keyboard.
Some want to apply for Disabled Students Allowance - the Student Finance fund that pays for special software or a one-to-one Tutor.
Some people just want to understand themselves better.
Trouble with words
I first got involved in education in the 90’s, when my sister suggested I might like working in Adult Literacy; she was right. That led me to Basic Skills, where adults and young people aimed to catch up with the English and Maths they had missed out on at school.
After a while, I realised I was meeting lots of intelligent people who had a hard time learning to read, write, or study. That led me to investigate dyslexia.
“Dyslexia” basically means "trouble with words”. There seem to be as many ways to be dyslexic as there are dyslexic people.
Based in East Kent, Malcolm Wallis is a qualified specialist teacher assessor holding an approved qualification, as noted in the SpLD Working Group 2005/DfES Guidelines and updates.
He holds the OCR Level 7 Certificate in Assessing and Teaching Qualification Learners with Specific Learning Difficulties (Dyslexia), Coleg Sir Gar, Carmarthen.
He also holds a current PATOSS Assessment Practising Certificate.
The assessment includes a questionnaire and interview to gather history and background, plus tests of of background ability, literacy skills and cognitive processing. Tests used are from the SpLD Assessment Standards Committee (SASC) approved list and the assessment report follows the SASC format.
Three things I often hear:
“I know what I mean, I just can’t put it into words.”
“I can read OK - it just doesn’t go in.”
“Why do I have to work three times as hard as other people to get the same results?”
Email me on malwallis@dysproof.com to ask about an assessment, or send a number and I’ll call you.
I’m based in the Whitstable / Canterbury area.