Are you wondering if your child needs a private educational assessment? If so, you’ve likely seen continued or increasing concerns with your child’s ability to focus, understand new concepts, retain new information, take tests or complete schoolwork. I know this can be a frustrating and potentially scary situation.
Many families are facing similar scenarios. Learning at home – outside of the school setting – has a way of revealing a child’s difficulties.
So many families were on the list for educational assessments with their schools before closures began. If you are in this boat, I am sorry for the difficulties you likely faced while your child had to learn from home.
You may find it difficult to get an educational evaluation through their school any time soon because districts are so backed up as the school staff work to provide the interventions needed to determine which students will need an assessment. The good news is you do have options that will give you more insight into your child’s strengths and weakness and that will ensure your child’s learning momentum picks back up. Outside of pursuing testing with a school psychologist, you can seek a comprehensive evaluation with an educational psychologist. Let’s look at your options for a private educational assessment.
In-Person Versus Virtual Private Assessment
In these times, virtual assessments appear to be the logical way to go. Afterall, you’re minimizing human interaction, right? I would argue that in the case of an educational assessment, in-person is the more beneficial route. Testing is a multi-level process that not only looks at the individual’s scores, but also identifies how they approach a task, problem solve, and use strategies. It also reveals if the individual perseveres or gives up when challenged, where their attention fades, and more.
Additionally, prior to the assessment, we don’t know what specific challenges your child is facing. They may be struggling with executive functions, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, or another specific learning disability. By observing how your child tests and assisting them, I can get a better idea of what they will need long term. This could include extra support, access to special school services, extra time on tests, or placement with a special education teacher.
In some health circumstances, virtual testing is best for the student and the family. It’s better to do the assessment virtually, in these situations, than not at all.
In-Person with PPE Versus Minimal Protective Gear
Compassionate Solutions has the advantage of being located in a single-dwelling home (turned into an office). We’ve designed it to be much more comfortable than the typical school environment. We control the number of people coming in an out throughout the day, make sure that every visitor is feeling well, and clean frequently. This allows us to use minimal protective gear and processes, usually just facemasks or social distancing. This is necessary for some students to be able to interact fully and see facial expressions. PPE can interfere with the ability to listen which is important to an authentic assessment.
If our minimal usage of PPE seems like what your child needs or if you have more questions about the precautions we take in our office, please give me a call. I am happy to discuss this with you.
After the Educational Assessment
Students are typically recommended by the child’s teacher for the evaluation process if their academic performance is markedly behind their peers in one or more academic areas. Furthermore, public school evaluations are used to determine if students should receive special education services. This means that many students will not be tested or they will not be offered special education assistance if their results do not show a need for special education services. They may, however, qualify for intervention services within the regular classroom setting.
If a need for special education services is revealed in the test results, a team would then be put together to work on an Individual Education Plan (IEP), which lays out goals and objectives for supporting the child’s education. This group, made up of school staff and the child’s parent or guardian, becomes the child’s long-term IEP team.
There are several key benefits to choosing a private assessment:
- The results of the assessment are not just used to diagnose. While we might find evidence for a diagnosis like autism spectrum disorder, we would go over all of the results to gain a better understanding of your child’s learning strengths and weaknesses.
- You can take the results of the assessment to your child’s school to appeal for special educational services.
- Results do not automatically go on your student’s school records. You can choose to have them added.
- I will be able to recommend ways to get your child’s learning back on track. This could come in the form of altering learning/studying strategies or working with an educational therapist, counselor, or tutor.
- Thanks to my background as a school psychologist, I am well-versed in helping families get the help they need from their child’s school, including support services. Working with an IEP team can be overwhelming, but I can help you break down the jargon and advocate for your child.
Schedule an Assessment Today
Don’t wait to have your child assessed. By choosing to do a private educational evaluation, you’ll gain more insight into your child’s needs, abilities, and struggles and have a plan to get your child back on track.
Please contact me if you would like to talk about this further.
