Learning Media Assessment (LMA)

By: Carmen Willings
teachingvisuallyimpaired.com
Updated June 14 2025
A Learning Media Assessment (LMA) or Reading Media Assessment (RMA) is conducted by the Teacher of Students with Visual Impairments (TVI) to determine the most appropriate literacy and functional learning media for a student with a visual impairment. ​A well-conducted LMA supports critical decisions about a student’s literacy instruction and access to the general curriculum. By observing sensory use, literacy behaviors, and task performance across settings, the TVI can advocate for media formats and supports that maximize the student’s independence and learning potential.
Terminology Clarification
While often used interchangeably, the two terms serve slightly different purposes:
  • Learning Media Assessment (LMA): Typically used for non-readers or pre-readers, including students with multiple impairments or very young children.
  • Reading Media Assessment (RMA): More appropriate for students who are already reading, to determine the most efficient and effective reading media.

Purpose and Overview

The LMA/RMA is a systematic process for collecting and analyzing information about a student’s:
  • Sensory channels (visual, tactual, auditory)
  • Learning preferences and environments
  • Literacy readiness and progress
  • Functional use of vision and other senses
Used in conjunction with the Functional Vision Evaluation (FVE), the LMA helps:
  • Determine how the student receives and processes information
  • Identify effective strategies for presenting instructional materials
  • Select appropriate literacy media (print, braille, auditory, or dual)
  • Support informed decision-making on curriculum planning, IEP development, and technology recommendations​​

For Early Learners or Students with Multiple Impairments

The LMA helps TVIs:
  • Understand the student’s sensory preferences
  • Identify how to calm or alert the student
  • Determine appropriate adaptations and intervention strategies
  • Promote more effective sensory integration and functional learning

​For Academic Students

The RMA is used to:
  • Determine the primary, secondary, or dual reading medium
  • Provide data to support braille instruction, continued print use, or dual-media instruction
  • Monitor the efficiency and progress of a student using print, braille, or auditory formats
Materials Used in RMA
Include a variety of print materials to reflect real-world and academic literacy tasks. Examples:
  • Class handouts and textbooks
  • Leisure reading books
  • Environmental print (menus, food labels, clothing tags)
  • Reference materials (maps, graphs, dictionaries, rulers)
  • Media (newspapers, magazines, catalogs, advertisements)
Encourage the use of prescribed low vision devices (magnifiers, CCTV, etc.) if available. Record the estimated font size and style the student is using or prefers.

​Observation Areas During RMA

Reading and Writing
  • Observe the student’s reading behavior across various media
  • Evaluate reading speed, accuracy, comprehension
  • Use tools such as the Jerry Johns Basic Reading Inventory to identify:
    • Instructional reading level
    • Independent reading level
    • Frustration level
    • Listening comprehension level
Keyboarding & Writing
  • Assess keyboarding skills (fingering accuracy, words per minute, error rate)
  • Observe:
    • Copying from a board and the student’s working distance
    • Copying from a textbook onto separate paper
    • Legibility of handwriting (to student and others)
    • Writing size, effort, posture, and comfort
    • Use of preferred writing tools

​Characteristics of Print Learners

According to Koenig and Holbrook, Learning Media Assessment of Students with Visual Impairments (2nd Edition), students may be print learners if they:
  • Use vision efficiently at near distance
  • Show interest in and can identify elements in pictures
  • Identify their name in print or understand that print carries meaning
  • Use print to complete early literacy tasks
  • Have a stable eye condition
  • Have functional central vision
  • Show consistent improvement in using vision for reading
  • Have no additional disabilities that hinder reading with print

​Characteristics of Braille Learners

According to Koenig and Holbrook, Learning Media Assessment of Students with Visual Impairments (2nd Edition), students may be candidates for braille instruction if they:
  • Prefer tactile exploration
  • Efficiently identify small objects by touch
  • Recognize their name or symbols in braille and understand braille has meaning
  • Use braille for early literacy tasks
  • Have unstable vision or a poor prognosis for retaining usable vision
  • Have nonfunctional or reduced central vision that makes print inefficient
  • Show progress in developing tactile skills
  • Have no additional disabilities that interfere with braille learning

Additional Resources...

  • Jerry Johns Basic Reading Inventory
    A widely used informal reading inventory that includes Large Print and Braille versions (available from APH). Assesses reading levels and helps identify appropriate literacy modalities.
  • Texas School for the Blind and Visually Impaired (TSBVI)
    Offers in-depth guides and tools for conducting LMAs and RMAs, including checklists and observation strategies.
  • Functional Vision & Learning Media Assessment ​(FVLMA) – APH
    A comprehensive tool for gathering, tracking, and analyzing functional vision and learning media data.
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