DMR Eligibility Decison by H.O. Rosenberg 3 8 08

Outcome: Ineligible
Keyword: validity, reliability, IQ  

Hearing Officer: Deirdre Rosenberg
Counsel present for Appellant: N/A
Counsel present for DMR: Elise Kopley
Hearing Officer decision: March 8, 2008
Appeal confirmed by Commissioner: March 14, 2008

43-year-old applicant born with cleft palate (surgically repaired at age of 18 months), received special education services in MA public schools, and "reportedly" graduated from high school appealing from determination of ineligibility based on his failure to meet DMR IQ requirements.

Initial determination and Hearing Officer's decision were based on the 2006 and 2007 test scores because earlier score was of questionable validity/reliability. Invalidity/unreliability based on comments of evaluator who noted the difficulty of testing due to applicant's short attention span and limited vocabulary. As the applicant has an IQ above 70, he does not fall into the " ‘sub-average intellectual' range." The applicant's adaptive skills are not relevant as he has failed to meet the sub-average intellectual prong of eligibility.