Assessment of special education is the process of gathering information about a child with a suspected disability. The purpose of such assessment is to assist in determining if the child qualifies for special education services and to help determine what special education services should be provided. Assessment should be carried out by those who have the knowledge and skills necessary to conduct the variety of assessments that are required.
The purpose of special education assessment is to determine whether a student is eligible for special education services. As part of the evaluation process, the student’s parents or guardians must provide written consent to allow the school district to evaluate their child. This form must be filled out and signed by the parent or guardian and returned to the school district office.
A school district must assess a student with a disability if it suspects the student needs special education services. This includes students who have been referred for assessment by their parents, teachers or other school personnel. Assessment of students with disabilities must be sufficiently comprehensive to identify all of the student’s special education and related service needs, whether or not these needs are often associated with the disability category in which the student has been classified.
An initial evaluation must include a variety of assessment tools and strategies, including information from parents, in order to gather relevant functional, developmental and academic information about the child; including information provided by the parent that may assist in determining:
Whether the child is a child with a disability
The content of the child’s IEP
Districts can use one comprehensive evaluation instrument or multiple tools as part of an initial evaluation.
Students with disabilities in the United States are protected under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). According to IDEA, school districts are mandated to assess all students who are suspected of having a disability.
All school districts, whether state funded or private, must follow this procedure when it comes to assessing for a suspected disability. Special education assessment is not a process that can be conducted in one afternoon. In fact, there are several components that must be considered before an IEP meeting is set up and a student can begin receiving special education services.
The first step in the assessment process is to determine if the child has a suspected disability. This is done through an initial referral or screening. If it is determined that there is a suspected disability, a comprehensive evaluation must be conducted by an assessment team appointed by the school district and including at least one specialist with expertise in the area(s) of suspected disability. Documentation from this evaluation will be used to develop an Individualized Education Program (IEP) for each student.
The IEP describes how the school will provide special education services for each student with a disability. This includes considering which instructional strategies will meet individual needs as well as evaluating progress toward meeting goals identified in the plan throughout each year that it remains in effect.
When a child is suspected of having a disability, gathering information about that child through assessment is the first step in determining whether or not the child qualifies for special education services. Assessment can be thought of as a process of collecting information about the child for the purpose of making decisions about appropriate placement, identification of needs, and service delivery.
Assessment of special education is the process of gathering information about a child with a suspected disability. The purpose of such assessment is to assist in determining if the child qualifies for special education services and to help determine what special education services should be provided. Assessment should be carried out by those who have the knowledge and skills necessary to conduct the variety of assessments that are required.
Assessment should be carried out by those who have the knowledge and skills necessary to conduct the variety of assessments that are required in order to assess all relevant areas.