The assessment of special education students is a process that must be in accordance with federal and state laws. The first step is to obtain parental consent for evaluation. Then, the team prepares an assessment plan, which includes the specific tests and other assessments that will be used to collect information about the student’s functioning across domains. During this period, the team also considers strategies to use during the assessment to make sure it’s fair. for example, they might provide an interpreter if English isn’t the student’s primary language or require that certain assessments be administered individually rather than in a group setting. Once all of the data has been collected, it is analyzed and used to determine if a student qualifies for special education services and supports.
Assessment of students with disabilities is a critical component in the process of identifying students who need special education, developing effective individualized education programs (IEPs) for those who qualify, and monitoring student progress annually. Assessment data are also important for determining whether a student continues to meet eligibility criteria for special education.
There are many ways to do this assessment;
One method is to have teachers complete a rubric for each goal listed on the student’s IEP (Individualized Education Plan). Each teacher would assess the student on each goal, indicating whether the student has not yet met the goal, has partially met the goal, or has fully met the goal. The scores would be averaged and discussed in an IEP meeting with parents to determine if goals should change or remain the same.
Another method is to have teachers create a data sheet for each of their subjects, including vocabulary, reading comprehension, mathematics skills, etc. On these sheets, they would record how well the student performs on various tasks related to those concepts.