ABSTRACT
Throughout this book, numerous vignettes have demonstrated that a child can have relatively high scores on intelligence indices and yet struggle in the school setting. Sometimes, disparities within the constellation of cognitive abilities lead to emotional and behavioral dysregulation, making the child unavailable for instruction. Other children are able to display appropriate student behavior but struggle to learn specific academic skills due to pockets of cognitive vulnerabilities. While the whole neuropsychological evaluation considers various cognitive domains and develops a full scale IQ score, it also assesses academic readiness and achievement. This functions as a measure of academic skill attainment. While distinct cognitive domains appear hardwired into functioning, certain academic skills only emerge through instruction and practice. Reading, for example, is a specific skill set that without exposure, instruction and practice is unlikely to develop. Assessment of academic achievement screens for specific learning disabilities, as well as strengths. In this chapter, three major academic skill sets are discussed in terms relevant to the process of administering a complete neuropsychological evaluation. Reading, writing and arithmetic are at the core of many school curricula. Each of these academic skills are discussed in terms of underlying processes required for skill attainment as well as assessment tools.
