August 31, 2004

Expert in scientific testing of learning ability to speak at Kennedy Center

Richard Woodcock, a world-renowned researcher of learning ability assessment, will present a lecture on historical advances in cognitive assessment on Thursday, Sept. 9, at 4 p.m. at the Vanderbilt Kennedy Center for Research on Human Development. The lecture will take place in Room 241 of the Kennedy Center/MRL Building and is free and open to the public.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. ñ Richard Woodcock, a world-renowned researcher of
learning ability assessment, will present a lecture on historical
advances in cognitive assessment on Thursday, Sept. 9, at 4 p.m. at the
Vanderbilt Kennedy Center for Research on Human Development. The
lecture will take place in Room 241 of the Kennedy Center/MRL Building
and is free and open to the public.

Woodcock, a visiting Kennedy
Center scholar, will discuss his ongoing research into diagnosing
learning disabilities, assessing growth and providing guidance in
educational and clinical settings.

Woodcock first published
the Woodcock-Johnson Psychoeducational Battery, a series of cognitive
and achievement tests designed to assess learning ability, in 1977. The
battery is now one of the primary diagnostic tools used to determine
whether a student has learning disabilities.

Woodcock has
served as an elementary school teacher, school psychologist and
university professor. From 1963 to 1968, he was a research professor of
special education at Peabody College and senior scientist and acting
director of the Kennedy Center’s Institute on Mental Retardation and
Intellectual Development. He received the Senior Scientist Award from
the American Psychological Association, Division of School Psychology,
in 1993 in recognition of his career contributions to the field of
school psychology.

The Vanderbilt Kennedy Center is a national
center for research on development and developmental disabilities. For
more information, visit http://kc.vanderbilt.edu or contact Stephanie
Comer at 615-322-8240.

Media contact: Stephanie Comer, (615) 322-NEWS
Stephanie.comer@vanderbilt.edu