Evaluations: Little to Fear
by Holly Swanson
It seems like a simple concept — evaluate children who seem to be struggling in the classroom to see if they qualify for additional services. But despite the potential value of this goal, special education evaluations can be intimidating to both parents and the student.
“Testing is a good thing,” says Cathleen G. Spinelli, PhD, a school psychologist and director of teacher education at Saint Joseph’s University in Philadelphia. “It gives parents more info about their child.” Evaluations are based on guidelines from the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), which seeks to identify children who may qualify for special educational services. Through testing, students can be found to meet the criteria for certain disabilities, such as autism, hearing or visual impairments, or for learning problems.
“The overall goal is to get children a free and appropriate public education,” explains Martha Brecher, legal director for New Jersey’s Statewide Parent Advocacy Network. “That means getting children the support they need to receive the education that will enable them to become productive adults.”
Beginning the Evaluation
A child who seems to be struggling should first be offered basic help in the classroom. When the student is identified as needing these services, the teacher will typically work with a team to identify “early intervention” practices that can be easily incorporated into the child’s education.
But if this assistance isn’t enough, the teacher may request a special needs evaluation. Likewise, if parents are worried about their child’s progress or behavior, they can contact the school district to request an evaluation.
Once an evaluation has been recommended, parents should receive a booklet from the school district describing their rights. “The parents should be involved in the process from the beginning,” Spinelli recommends. “The booklet explains their due process rights — that they have the right to have hearings and they have the privilege and obligation to be involved in the process.”
If parents feel that testing is not in the best interest of the child, they can decline to sign the permission slip and stop the evaluation process. However, if the school feels strongly that the evaluation is necessary, it may initiate a due process hearing to overrule the parents’ objections.
The Evaluation
Every evaluation is different, based on the student’s perceived problem areas. Before the testing, parents should provide the evaluation team with the child’s medical, social and academic history and other information that might help the school get a better understanding of the child.
“The parents’ input is really critical and it’s important that there is collaboration between the school and parent,” Spinelli says. “The school may plan to do a basic IQ test, but if the parent is concerned the child has an attention problem, the team might decide to have a neurological test based on the parent’s information.”
Spinelli stresses the importance of making sure the student is emotionally and physically prepared for the evaluation. “The parent should request advance notice about when the testing will happen. The child needs to be well nourished and well rested the day of testing,” she says. “If the child has vision problems, make sure she wears her glasses. She should also tell the person testing her about anything unusual, like if she doesn’t feel well that day.”
“First and foremost, the student needs to relax,” advises Susan Moroz, EdD, an independent education evaluator with Educational Service, Inc., in Wilmington, DE.
As the evaluations can consist of several different testing methods, there is no prep work that parents need to do with the child to prepare.
The Results
Following the evaluation, parents receive a written report detailing the team’s findings. If the child is classified as disabled, and the parents consent to the classification, the team works together to determine what special services the child will receive.
“These services can include programming, special classes, or related services like occupational therapy or counseling,” Spinelli says.
They can also include technology like number lines, talking calculators or graphic organizers, as well as help from teacher aides. “It doesn’t ever hurt to get the testing done, because if the team says the child should be classified (as having a learning disability) and the parents disagree, the child is not classified,” says Spinelli.
The school does have the option to involve the legal system in cases where it feels the child needs classification to receive a proper education. “If the parents disagree with the evaluation, they may tell the school they want to have an independent evaluation done at the school district’s expense,” Brecher says. “The school district must either pay for the evaluation or take the parents (to a hearing) to demonstrate that their finding was proficient.”
Independent evaluations may help the parents and the school district get a better overall feel for how to help the child, which sometimes includes outside resources. “I share with parents my perspective of the child’s learning abilities, but more importantly, how to manage any learning difficulties.”Moroz says. “I discuss how to work with the school and what are reasonable expectations to place on the school system.”
“The goal is always to get the best services for the child,” Spinelli says. Special education evaluations are often the first step in getting the services that can boost a child’s
education.
Holly Swanson is a freelance writer.