The Educational Evaluation Process
This section will provide a broad overview of the evaluation process. Your future coursework will provide an opportunity for a more in-depth discussion and exploration of the evaluation process.
What happens during an educational evaluation?
Evaluating a child means more than the school just giving a child a test. The school must evaluate the child in all areas where they may be affected by a possible disability. This may include looking at the child’s health, vision, hearing, social and emotional well-being, general intelligence, performance in school, and how well the child communicates with others and uses their body. The evaluation must be individualized (specific to that child) and comprehensive enough to determine whether the child has a disability. It must also identify all the child’s needs for special education and related services if it is determined that the child has a disability.
The evaluation process involves several steps. These are listed below.
Reviewing existing information
A team of people, including the family, begins by looking at the information that the school already has about the child. The family may have information about the child that they wish to share as well. The team will look at information such as:
- the child’s scores on tests given in the classroom or to all students in the child’s grade;
- the opinions and observations of the child’s teachers and other school staff who know the child; and
- the family’s feelings, concerns, and ideas about how the child is doing in school.
Deciding if more information is still needed
The information collected above will help the group decide:
- whether the child has a particular type of disability;
- how the child is currently doing in school;
- whether the child needs special education and related services; and
- what the child’s educational needs are.
If the information that the team collects fails to answer these questions, then the school must collect additional information about the child.
Collecting more information about the child
A parent or guardian’s informed written permission is required before the school may collect additional information about the child. The school must also describe how it will collect the information. This includes describing the tests that will be used and other ways that the school will gather information. After receiving consent, the school will go ahead as described. The information it gathers will give the evaluation team the information it needs to make the types of decisions listed above.
How does the school collect this information?
The school collects information about the child from many different people and in many different ways. Tests are an important part of an evaluation, but they are only a part. The evaluation should also include:
- the observations and opinions of professionals who have worked with the child;
- the child’s medical history when it relates to their performance in school; and
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