Evaluation Time…Yes or No?

For some reason, I seem to be getting more calls this year from parents who are seeking answers in relation to their right to request a psychoeducational evaluation from their school. Yes, parents do have that right. Quite often, whether a student has an IEP already or not, the school will say that they have to first do RTI (Response To Intervention) before doing an evaluation. While, yes, schools have to do RTI, that is not a reason to delay the parents signing a Consent to Evaluate. It is sometimes used as a delay tactic and should never get in the way of moving forward on an evaluation that is needed.

Main Reasons to Request an Evaluation

If your child does not have an IEP, and you suspect that there is a disability that is negatively affecting their education, you can request to sign a Consent to Evaluate. This evaluation is usually a full psychoeducational evaluation that is comprehensive in nature and can consider many different types of educational impacts related to disabilities. Since most people reading this article will be parents of children who already have IEPs, I won’t get into the specifics of the initial evaluation, other than saying that parents have the right to sign a Consent to Evaluate if they have concerns about their child’s education related to a disability.

When your child already has an IEP, every 3 years the team needs to “consider” testing, however, there are two main reasons to formally evaluate.

1. If you think there may be another disability that is significantly affecting their education and you want that to be considered. This oftentimes looks like a child who is originally evaluated and determined with a developmental delay, and later the team needs to consider autism spectrum disorder. An evaluation is needed to make that switch. There are certainly other conditions that would warrant an evaluation of this type regarding eligibility.
2. If your child is not making the progress that you or other members of the team would expect them to make and it appears as though the interventions are not having a positive impact, this is another reason to evaluate. The evaluation should look for both the skills and abilities that your child possesses. On intellectual and academic testing, looking for high scores will help give insight into how your child takes in the world and processes information. Once you understand how they think, then a conversation needs to take place of how to teach them, what curriculum would align with the way that they learn and identify where more energy should be spent. If you use a curriculum that is contrary to the way the child learns, you are very likely to have the same academic outcomes year after year – and all not good.

Times to Be Cautious

Many parents think that psychoeducational evaluations are needed every three years and that it’s something that they should have, because they can. As with anything, sometimes you have to be careful of what you wish for – there could be negative side effects that many people don’t know about or think about. I attend IEP meetings quite often where a child is, say in 2nd grade and the teacher sees that the child is struggling and tries to convince the parents to do an IQ test so that they “won’t have to take the standardized test in 3rd grade”.  (What parent doesn’t love the idea of getting their child out of standardized testing that is likely to stress them out?) Attempting to avoid standardized testing is not a good reason to evaluate, especially not in the younger grades. If a child is struggling in school, then it’s time to look at how they’re being taught, in what type of classroom and who is doing the teaching.

When a student is evaluated, and if they obtain an IQ score of 67 or lower, the likelihood is very high that the team will remove the student from regular standards. In fact, they need that 67 or lower IQ to do so. We know that students with disabilities are not good test takers, and a test is only a reflection of how someone did on that day, at that time and in that location. If a student is evaluated and removed from standards, it is important to know that the team is changing that child’s future with a simple strike of the pen. When students are removed from standards, and placed on alternative assessments, there will be no college degree seeking program in their future nor regular certification in a trade or vocation. For some students, this is appropriate, and the focus will be on independent living and job skills so that they can receive the instruction they need in order to prepare for the world of work after school has ended. But most students with disabilities are on, and should remain on, regular standards regardless of their diagnosis.

I was that parent.

When my son was in 4th grade, having had a comprehensive psychoeducational evaluation done just a few years prior, I thought that I wanted updated testing to see how he had changed, given all of the interventions we were providing. What came back from that testing module was significantly lower scores than he had previously received. It turned out that the testing instrument that was used that second time was not only not the same as the first one, but it did not take into consideration that he was much stronger nonverbally than he was verbally. I had to jump through a few hoops for those low scores to be removed from his educational record. We did not test again until he was tested through Vocational Rehabilitation when he was in 11^th grade and preparing to graduate.

If there is a reason to test, do it. If it’s just because you think it might be good, then talk to someone who knows and understands why you would test, and what types of tests would be a good idea towards the outcomes you seek. This could be an advocate but could also be a parent who has gone through themselves. Wrightslaw.com has some good info and guidance on this topic as well.