Benchmark - Summative Examination  Part of a special educator’s responsibilities include understanding the characteristics of the major disability categories and how the characteristics affect typical development. When conducting observations and consulting with staff who work with students with disabilities, teachers must be able to articulate the differences in development and prescribe appropriate interventions. Understanding the effect of culture and language development must also be considered in meeting student needs. Part 1: Short Answer Responses Evaluate the following case studies and, in 100-250 words, classify the IDEA disability category for each student. Provide a rationale for your identification choice that takes into consideration each student's developmental milestones. Tomas, Kindergarten Tomas entered Mrs. Richards' kindergarten classroom at the beginning of the school year with great excitement! He showed great interest in learning and being in the classroom with other students. As the school year progressed, however, Tomas' excitement quickly turned into frustration. He struggled with recognizing the letters in his name, identifying different shapes, and consistently could not follow two-part instructions. He also was dramatically less able than his peers to focus on a task. His frustrations have led to impulsive actions. Mrs. Richards has called a meeting with his parents to address her concerns. Harper, 3rd Grade Harper attends Sunset Elementary School and is in a class with 25 other third graders. Harper loves her teacher Mrs. Hernandez and struggles when a substitute takes her place. She excels in math and tends to get bored when the other kids in her class struggle. Harper also loves reading about the weather, somewhat obsessively, and can share weather facts and details for hours. She enjoys going to school, but does struggle with the loud noises a school brings. In school assemblies, for instance, she becomes overly upset about the noise level and tends to rock back and forth to calm herself. She also does not like fire drills and has refused to leave the classroom because of the sound of the fire alarm. Instead, she will flop to the ground, kick, and cover her ears. Austin, 5th Grade Austin was 9 years old when he was hit by a car while riding his bike on the sidewalk. He broke his arm and leg and hit his head very hard. When he came home from the hospital he looked just fine, but he needed help. Now back at school, there are changes in Austin that are hard to understand. It takes Austin longer to do things, and he has trouble remembering. He cannot always find the words he wants to use. Math is hard for him now, but it was his strongest academic area before the accident. Mary, 9th Grade Mary and her mother recently moved to the school district from Mexico after divorcing her father, who still lives in Mexico. Mary and her mother now live with Mary’s uncle, his wife, and five kids. Mom is working two .

1. Benchmark - Summative Examination
Part of a special educator’s responsibilities include
understanding the characteristics of the major disability
categories and how the characteristics affect typical
development. When conducting observations and consulting
with staff who work with students with disabilities, teachers
must be able to articulate the differences in development and
prescribe appropriate interventions. Understanding the effect of
culture and language development must also be considered in
meeting student needs.
Part 1: Short Answer Responses
Evaluate the following case studies and, in 100-250 words,
classify the IDEA disability category for each student. Provide
a rationale for your identification choice that takes into
consideration each student's developmental milestones.
Tomas, Kindergarten
Tomas entered Mrs. Richards' kindergarten classroom at the
beginning of the school year with great excitement! He showed
great interest in learning and being in the classroom with other
students. As the school year progressed, however, Tomas'
excitement quickly turned into frustration. He struggled with
recognizing the letters in his name, identifying different shapes,
and consistently could not follow two-part instructions. He also
was dramatically less able than his peers to focus on a task. His
frustrations have led to impulsive actions. Mrs. Richards has
called a meeting with his parents to address her concerns.
Harper, 3rd Grade
Harper attends Sunset Elementary School and is in a class with

2. 25 other third graders. Harper loves her teacher Mrs. Hernandez
and struggles when a substitute takes her place. She excels in
math and tends to get bored when the other kids in her class
struggle. Harper also loves reading about the weather, somewhat
obsessively, and can share weather facts and details for hours.
She enjoys going to school, but does struggle with the loud
noises a school brings. In school assemblies, for instance, she
becomes overly upset about the noise level and tends to rock
back and forth to calm herself. She also does not like fire drills
and has refused to leave the classroom because of the sound of
the fire alarm. Instead, she will flop to the ground, kick, and
cover her ears.
Austin, 5th
Grade
Austin was 9 years old when he was hit by a car while riding his
bike on the sidewalk. He broke his arm and leg and hit his head
very hard. When he came home from the hospital he looked just
fine, but he needed help. Now back at school, there are changes
in Austin that are hard to understand. It takes Austin longer to
do things, and he has trouble remembering. He cannot always
find the words he wants to use. Math is hard for him now, but it
was his strongest academic area before the accident.
Mary, 9th
Grade
Mary and her mother recently moved to the school district from
Mexico after divorcing her father, who still lives in Mexico.
Mary and her mother now live with Mary’s uncle, his wife, and
five kids. Mom is working two part-time jobs to make ends meet
so they can eventually afford to move to an apartment nearby.
Mom can speak and read English, but is often working during

3. times when Mary is home from school. Mary speaks some
English, but only reads and writes in Spanish. She is reading at
the third grade level in Spanish and has difficulty writing
paragraphs. Writing is limited to simple sentences. Mary likes
mathematics and can complete simple algebraic expressions,
and is close to grade level in geometry. She does struggle with
word problems.
Part 2: Essay
Selecting one of the student scenarios above address the
following prompts in a 750-1,000 word essay:
Explain how language, culture, and family background
influence your student of choice.
Summarize the cognitive, linguistic, social, and emotional
development of the student described within the scenario.
Identify three instructional approaches that respond to the needs
of the student described within the scenario.
Explain why teachers need to be committed to respecting
students’ individual strengths, interests, and needs to promote
each student’s growth and potential.
Support your response with at least three scholarly resources.
Prepare this assignment according to the guidelines found in the
APA Style Guide, located in the Student Success Center. An
abstract is not required.
This assignment uses a rubric. Review the rubric prior to

4. beginning the assignment to become familiar with the
expectations for successful completion.
You are required to submit this assignment to LopesWrite.
Refer to the
LopesWrite Technical Support articles
for assistance.
Program competencies and national standards assessed in the
benchmark assignment:
COE 1.1: Explain how language, culture, and family
background influence the learning of individuals with
disabilities. [CEC 1.1, ICSI.1.K4, ICSI.1.K5, ICSI.1.K6,
ICSI.1.K7, ICSI.1.K12, ICSI.1.K13, ICSI.2.K8, ICSI.4.S6,
ICSI.5.S6, ICSI.6.S6; InTASC 1(e), 2(d), 2(j), 2(k), 2(m); GCU
Mission Critical 3,5]
COE 1.2: Use understanding of development and individual
differences to respond to the needs of individuals with
disabilities. [CEC 1.2, ICSI.1.K3, ICSI.1.K4, ICSI.1.K7,
ICSI.1.K12, ICSI.1.K13, IGC.1.K4, IGC.1.S1; InTASC 1(a),
1(b), 1(d), 1(e), 1(f), 1(h), 1(j), 2(a), 2(b), 2(g), 2(h), 2(l); GCU
Mission Critical 1, 2, 3, 5]