Differential Ability Scales—Second Edition

The Differential Ability Scales—Second Edition (DAS–II) continues the tradition of providing an in-depth analysis of children's learning abilities. Using profile analysis, you can identify a child's strengths and weaknesses to develop appropriate IEP goals, intervention strategies, and progress monitoring plans. This time-efficient profile measurement

• Offers a comprehensive understanding of a child's cognitive ability
• Includes decision points which provide you with the flexibility to customize the assessment based on a child's needs
• Expands its assessment of lower functioning children so you can feel confident when evaluating children with severe disabilities
• Is based on tailored testing procedures to reduce overall administration time, maximizing usage of a child's energy and facilitating rapport
• Incorporates a very engaging format appropriate for young children

The DAS–II includes a wide range of cognitive subtests with sufficient reliability to be used alone. Each subtest measures a homogeneous, reliable, and distinct set of cognitive abilities, offering several cluster scores according to the following domains of ability: Verbal, nonverbal reasoning, spatial, working memory, processing speed, and school readiness cluster for children ages 5:0 to 8:11 to measure 3 sets of abilities related to early school success and failure.

The DAS–II provides two composite scores that are equally reliable:

• General Conceptual Ability (GCA)—summarizes developmentally appropriate ability domains
• Special Nonverbal Composite (SNC)—summarizes the nonverbal domains (the SNC is particularly valuable when testing children who are not proficient in spoken English)

Theoretically Driven, the DAS-II Includes These Features:

• All major CHC broad abilities are represented in the subtests and composites
• Subtests map onto neuropsychological constructs, and reflect recent research in working memory and reading acquisition
• The DAS–II uses state-of-the-art psychometric techniques that increase the time-efficiency of the instrument, yet produce the highest reliable subtest specificity of any cognitive battery. The result is an effective profile analysis of an individual's strengths and weaknesses in cognitive processing.

Two Test Batteries in One

This instrument covers all ability levels for ages 2:6 to 17:11, split into an Early Years and a School-Age cognitive battery. For ages 5:0 to 8:11, both levels of the battery are fully co-normed, permitting expanded out-of-level testing and ensuring that bright, younger children and less able older children can be given subtests appropriate for their abilities. In addition, the examiner can compare performance on subtests tapping similar constructs from each battery to test hypotheses about the reasons for high or low scores.

When Testing Children with Suspected Learning Disabilities

The DAS–II is linked to a comprehensive measure of achievement, the WIAT®–II, which taps the key areas of disability. Correlations are also provided for the KTEA–II and WJ–III COG. Culturally unbiased, the revision provides diagnostic subtests that measure cognitive abilities implicated in the dual-deficit hypothesis of developmental dyslexia and much-needed measures of working memory and processing speed, two types of deficits that can underlie diminished performance across academic domains.

Clinical Studies

Validity data are available for children with developmental risk, mental retardation, including children with Down Syndrome, learning disorder in reading, learning disorder in reading and writing, learning disorder in math, expressive language disorder, mixed receptive/expressive language disorder, ADHD and a combination of learning disabilities (reading, writing, math), ADHD, Limited English Proficiency as well as children who are deaf or hard of hearing.

DAS–II Expanded Based on Your Feedback

The new DAS–II includes extended and out-of-level testing capabilities based on an expanded range of clinical studies. Providing updated validity studies, the measure offers additional diagnostic subtests to evaluate aspects of memory and reading prerequisites. It also includes signed nonverbal subtest administration instructions for children who are deaf or hard of hearing.

DAS–II Scoring Assistant in Every Kit

Quickly and accurately scoring DAS–II test results, the Scoring Assistant maintains demographic information, stores raw scores, and creates comprehensive graphical and narrative reports. It also generates tabular analyses of strengths and weaknesses in underlying cognitive processes and analyzes DAS–II ability and WIAT–II achievement discrepancies.