What are school based evaluations?

You have written the request to the Committee on Special Education to have your child evaluated by the school district.  You signed the consent form and now the school district will evaluate.  What does that mean?  What evaluations will be conducted?  

Basically, a school evaluation delves into how a student learns in the classroom.  IQ, memory, cognitive functioning, working memory, processing, behavior and academic skills are all assessed and will identify either areas of strength and areas of weakness.  Results will help to determine student needs in the classroom.  

A psychological evaluation tests for cognitive abilities that a student needs in the classroom.  There are five component parts; working memory, processing, two non-verbal and verbal.  When all five component parts are added up, they provide an IQ score.  Average range is between 90-109.  Scores above 109 are superior and scores between 80 and 90 are low average and below 80 means significant cognitive deficits.  

A educational/academic evaluation tests for school related skills that include language, math, writing and reading.  The psychosocial history is a review of the student’s birth and developmental history, family relationships and other parental concerns.  

Other evaluations that can be conducted include speech and language, occupational and physical therapy.  Speech and langauge assess language used for learning, language spoken and language heard.  How is the student using language through out a school day.  Occupational therapy test for handwriting and sensory based needs and physical therapy tests for gross motor skills such as running, jumping and walking.

All the evaluations test for how a student performs in school.  There is no diagnosis given at the time of the meeting.  The information provided by the evaluations will help to determine eligibility for services.  As per the IDEA guidelines, qualified personnel provide comprehensive evaluations that are research based.  All areas of concern will be evaluated to address student needs.  Helping a student meet grade level expectations is the premise of all the evaluations.  The evaluations measure current academic capability to help provide skills towards school success.  Stay tuned for IEE or Independent Educational Evaluations.