Assessing Children For The Presence Of A Disability

The Parents' Role in the Assessment Process

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While designing, conducting, interpreting, and paying for the assessment are the school system's responsibilities, parents have an important part to play before, during, and after the evaluation. The purpose of this section is to provide parents with suggestions for the range of ways in which they might involve themselves in the assessment of their child. The extent to which parents involve themselves, however, is a personal decision and will vary from family to family.

Before the evaluation, parents:

• May initiate the evaluation process by requesting that the school system evaluate their child for the presence of a disability and the need for special education.
  
  
• Must be notified by the school, and give their consent, before any initial evaluation of the child may be conducted.
  
  
• May wish to talk with the person responsible for conducting the evaluation to find out what the evaluation will involve.
  
  
• May find it very useful to become informed about assessment issues in general and any specific issues relevant to their child (e.g., assessment of minority children, use of specific tests or assessment techniques with a specific disability).
  
  
• May need to advocate for a comprehensive evaluation -- one that investigates all skill areas apparently affected by the suspected disability and that uses multiple means of collecting information (e.g., observations, interviews, alternative approaches).
  
  
• May suggest specific questions they would like to see addressed through the evaluation (see "Other Assessment Questions" in Section Two).
  
  
• Should inform the school of any accommodations the child will need (e.g., removing time limits from tests, conducting interviews/testing in the child's native language, adapting testing environment to child's specific physical and other needs).
  
  
• Should inform the school if they themselves need an interpreter or other accommodations during any of their discussions with the school.
  
  
• May prepare their child for the evaluation process, explaining what will happen and, where necessary, reducing the child's anxiety. It may help the child to know that he or she will not be receiving a "grade" on the tests he or she will be taking but that the purpose behind any testing is to gather information to help the student succeed in school. During the evaluation process, parents:
  
  
• Need to share with the school their insights into the child's background (developmental, medical, and academic) and past and present school performance.
  
  
• May wish to share with the school any prior school records, reports, tests, or evaluation information available on their child.
  
  
• May need to share information about cultural differences that can illuminate the educational team's understanding of the student (see Section Four).
  
  
• Need to make every effort to attend interviews the school may set up with them and provide information about their child. After the evaluation, parents:
  
  
• Need to carefully consider the results that emerge from their child's evaluation, in light of their own observation and knowledge of the child. Do the results make sense in terms of the behaviors, skills, needs, and attitudes they have observed in their child? Are there gaps, inconsistencies, or unexpected findings in the results that parents feel are important to address, if a comprehensive picture of the student's strengths and needs is to be developed?
  
  
• May share their insights and concerns about the evaluation results with the school and suggest areas where additional information may be needed. Schools may or may not act upon parents' suggestions, and parents have certain recourses under law, should they feel strongly about pursuing the matter.
  
  
• Participate fully in the development of their child's Individualized Education Program (IEP), using information from the evaluation.