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Psychoeducational Assessments
We feel so thankful that we found Chartwell, thanks to Judy Lewis, our neighbor at the time, when we did. Tommy is able to advocate for himself, is very independent, and faces challenges with confidence. I am not saying it has been all smooth sailing but without the knowledge we all found at Chartwell, life today would be very different. |
-Joyce George, Alumni Parent |
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Tips for Preparing for PsychoEducational Referrals
#1 Tip: Focus on collaborative efforts. Educators, parents, administrators, and other key players in the student's environment should be included in the discussion of what happens next. Consent alone is not considered to be collaboration. Remember that the psychoeducational assessment:
- is administered on one day of the student’s life at a specific time and place. A test provides a snapshot or sample of the student’s behavior on that given day so that educators, parents, and other key players who plan for a student’s intervention are able to generalize from the observed behavior what might happen for the student in a non-testing situation.
- is to assist in ongoing assessment of the student’s needs and strengths. The document will be a lifelong reference for student services and for accommodating their needs when the students mainstream, require more time for test-taking (e.g. SAT), or attend college.
- might suggest skill level areas (e.g. decoding) of weakness or strength in the sub test scores. Be sure to inquire about the sub tests listed for those and other areas of achievement.
- must describe the problem in observable measurable terms.
- should be linked with goals. The data and hypothesis develop the goals for the intervention. Goals and interventions should be planned so that they can be implemented and have a high probability of success. The areas of intervention and goals must be consistent with regard to the problem identified. The goals should be stated in explicit, measurable terms.
The evaluator should:
- focus on describing the presenting problem or referral question.
- briefly describe the current level of performance and the expected level.
- describe data as it directly relates to the identified problem. A baseline of data and the outcome data should be collected and compared by the evaluator.
- summarize the assessment methods used. The summary should provide additional, clarifying information about the identified problem. It should be directly related to seeking answers to the identified problem.
- Discuss a hypotheses of the possible reasons for the problem and its occurrence. The evaluator should present reasons about "why" the behavior happens and consider factors contributing to the problem. Interventions can only be developed when hypotheses are developed.
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1 National Association of School Psychologists. (2000). Preparing your case study for the NCSP application: Tips for applicants. Retrieved January 15, 2003 from http://www.nasponline.org/certification/casestudy_tips.html
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