Reliability among School-Based Professionals: Using a Feature-Matching Screening Checklist to Identify Communication Systems

Abstract

Students with complex communication needs may require augmentative and alternative communication systems to supplement or replace their speech abilities. To effectively identify a communication system, a feature-matching process should be implemented as it considers the student’s present levels of performance. Due to the unique communication characteristics of students with complex communication needs, informal assessment tools are often used to help determine the students’ skills in natural contexts. A challenge often faced with informal assessment tools is the reliability among evaluators. As such, this pilot study attempted to evaluate the reliability of a feature-matching screening checklist and its corresponding matrices among potential professionals who would be part of the educational team. Results indicated that (a) pre-service and in-service special education teachers were the most reliable combination when completing the screening checklist, (b) exposure to the screening checklist was an influencing factor on reliability, and (c) in-service speech-language pathologists made the most errors while completing the screening checklist. Implications for practices and future research directions are discussed.