Qatar

Students with Reading Difficulties

Diagnostic Testing

No diagnostic testing specifically identifies reading disabilities in Ministry of Education primary schools. Classroom teachers regularly assess students to diagnose reading difficulties. Because schools do not have a common reading disability screening test available, diagnostic screening varies. The Qatar Individual Needs Program is working to identify valid and reliable individual reading assessments designed to inform professionals and parents of students’ potential reading difficulties, and has recently tested a screening inventory in some pilot schools. Students who are identified by these assessments as having reading difficulties are classified as “individual needs students.”

Instruction for Children with Reading Difficulties

Depending on the severity of the problem, students identified with reading difficulties may receive support from a special educator or teacher. Schools specifically employ teachers to teach students with reading difficulties, because teachers with special education training are not likely to be trained as reading specialists. Special education teachers are expected to collaborate with general classroom teachers to best meet these students’ needs. In schools that administer individualized diagnostic reading assessments, general classroom teachers collaborate with the school‑based individual needs coordinator to implement the primary service delivery system, which identifies strategies for differentiated reading instruction. If this system does not meet students’ needs, the level of service or intervention is increased, so the students receive more targeted attention, usually from an intervention specialist. In such cases, an individual education plan specifically describes the services or interventions to be provided.