Affiliations: Department of Education, Tel Hai Academic College,
Israel | Centre for Child Research, Swansea University,
Swansea, UK
Note: [] Address for correspondence: Dr. Jonathan Kasler, Department of
Education, Tel Hai Academic College, Upper Galilee, 12210, Israel. Tel.: +972 4
6938877; E-mail: [email protected]
Abstract: The Strengths and Weaknesses Academic Profile (SWAP) was constructed
in Israel in response to the local need of career counselors for a valid,
reliable, comprehensive, parsimonious, and computerized screening device for
identifying those likely to be at risk of learning disabilities (LD). The
method chosen was self-report. A set of cognitive items was written and divided
into seven scales: reading, writing, attention and memory, computation, English
as a foreign language (EFL), study skills, and self-image. The screening tool
was validated on a research sample in Sheffield, UK, based on comparison of the
results obtained from the screening with the results of standardized diagnosis
of learning disabilities administered to the respondents. The questionnaire was
administered to 39 students, half of them diagnosed for dyslexia and half
tested and found to be free of dyslexia. Results indicate that SWAP is a
reliable and valid questionnaire, with a classification power of approximately
90%. The questionnaire is now widely used in Israel, where an Internet site
has been constructed to administer the questionnaire and provide immediate and
direct results.
