AHEAD Academy: Diagnostic Assessment - Spring 2025

About this Course

REGISTRATION IS CURRENTLY CLOSED. 
Please Check Back in Fall 2025!
Diagnostic Assessment and Professional Judgement for Learning Disabilities and Attention Disabilities



hands filling out a test form


This 8-week course is designed for Disability Resources staff who want to understand key concepts and practices behind diagnostic assessments.

Respected instructor Rhonda Rapp has taken content from her popular AHEAD workshops and expanded it into an accessible online format to allow participants to dive deeply into the material through video presentations, readings, and hands-on assignments. A listserv-style discussion will allow the class to further explore what they learn in each module.

Students should plan 2-3 hours to work on each module. The instructor and AHEAD staff will be available throughout the course to give feedback and support to students as needed.

Concepts covered will include:

  • Methods for collecting disability-related background information
  • A history of the development of psycho-educational evaluations and what individual tests and subtests are designed to assess
  • Exploring the structure and meaning of diagnostic assessments and reports
  • How to make informed referrals for service or additional assessment
  • How to conduct and interpret behavioral observations of students
  • Analyzing student documentation and determining accommodations and services

Short Pre- and Post-tests will help you gauge your knowledge of the material. At the end of class you will receive a certificate of completion equal to 30 hours of class participation.

This course was fascinating. It has fundamentally changed the way I review and understand psychological evaluations and I am so glad I decided to take it.

- Fall 2024 Student

Course Instructor

Rhonda Rapp

Rhonda Rapp, Ph.D

I will be your facilitator for this course; my name is Rhonda H. Rapp and I am an educational consultant with a specialty in removing barriers to learning. I have been an Educational Diagnostician since 1979 (in fact, in my practicum, we tested some of the first students for “special education” placement under the new Public Law 94-142 - now known as IDEA); was a diagnostician/prescriptive teacher for the state of Oklahoma (working with both urban schools, rural schools and “institutional” schools); have been a disability services provider at the postsecondary level for over twenty-five years; and continue to provide training focused on diagnostic assessments and working with students with learning disabilities and/or attention disabilities. At the last university I worked at (before I retired), I got the chance to conduct diagnostic assessments for undergraduates, for individuals in our graduate programs, and for our Law School; I also prepared the documentation for the Bar Exam. Over the years, I have had the privilege to conduct in-depth psychoeducational assessments for a widely diverse population of individuals in a variety of settings. My master’s degree is in Educational Counseling Psychology, with post-Master’s certification as a Diagnostician and my doctorate is in Educational Human Resource Development. I have worked in disability services at both a public community college (which was a HBCU & HSI) and at private doctoral-granting universities (which were HSIs).

Course Access

Registrants May
Access the Course 
beginning at 9 am EST on
Monday, February 17, 2025