ASK THE ATTORNEY: It is being recommended that my child undergo evaluations. What exactly is an evaluation?

By Sheryl Frishman, Esq., Littman Krooks LLP

The law requires the school district to fully evaluate a child in all suspected areas of disability. A full evaluation must be completed before a student is considered or approved for special education services in the first place or further services.  An evaluation is a comprehensive process used to determine a student’s strengths and challenges.  There are multiple assessment instruments and other items that can be used to evaluate a child.   Different types of assessments measure different things.   Which evaluations will be done will be based on what needs to be answered about a student.  Before you can have a meaningful CPSE or CSE meeting to develop an appropriate educational plan for a child there must be a thorough understanding of what the student’s strengths and weaknesses are and objective data to support a plan.    The determination of what evaluations are needed is done on a case by case basis with input from parents in order to comprehensively indentify a student’s Present Level of Performance (“PLOP”) in each of the following areas:

1.     Academic/Educational Achievement and Learning Characteristics:

The levels of knowledge and development ins subject and skill areas including activities of daily living, level of intellectual functioning, adaptive behavior expected rate of progress in acquiring skills and information, and learning style.

2.     Social Development

The degree and quality of the student’s relationships with peers and adults, feelings about self, and social adjustment to school and community environments.

3.     Physical Development

The degree or quality of the Student’s motor and sensory development, health vitality, and physical skills or limitations that pertain to the learning process, including pertinent information from the student’s physical exam.

4.     Management Needs

The nature of and degree to which environmental modifications and human or material resources are required to enable the student to benefit from instruction.  Management needs are determined in accordance with the factors identified in each of the three areas described above.

Some of the items that should be in a good evaluation are the following:

1.     The basic information about the student, i.e., name, date of birth, grade, school, school district.

2.     A description of the child on the testing day.

3.     The evaluator’s credentials.

4.     Was the test given in the child’s native language?

5.     Why was the evaluation requested? What are the suspected areas of disability?

6.     What tests were performed and the results of the testing?  Were the most recent versions of the tests used?

7.     What is it that the student can and cannot do?

8.     What are the student’s strengths and abilities in each area assessed?

9.     What are the parent’s concerns regarding the education of the student?

10.   Does the student require a particular device or service to address special factors related to the student’s behavior, communication needs, limited English proficiency, visual impairment and or the student’s need for assistive technology?

11.  What factors affect the student’s participation and performance in the general curriculum?

12.  What has worked in the past and what has not worked?

13.  Recommendations and plan.

Sheryl Frishman, Esq. is an attorney with the law offices Littman Krooks, LLP.

This is not legal advice.  Please do not rely on this without first consulting an attorney. For more information, visit www.specialneedsnewyork.com/blog/

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