Speaking clearly, what is a Psychoeducational Evaluation?
People may seek a psychological evaluation for many reasons; learning, behavior, injury, health, emotional problems, or developmental concerns, to name just a few. A psychoeducational or educational evaluation is simply a type of psychological evaluation. For example, an educational evaluation investigates the learning potential and the development of academic skills. A psychological evaluation of any kind must be completed by a licensed psychologist or associate psychologist who is registered with the College of Psychologists in your province.
In simple terms, during an educational evaluation, a psychologist must determine a person’s abilities and then see if their academic performance is at a comparable level. It is common sense to predict that a person of average intelligence will complete math, spelling, reading, writing, and other academic tasks within the average range. A psychologist will find out if a client’s academic performance equals her intelligence through testing, clinical observation, and statistical analysis.
Well, what if you have average intelligence but some academic area is much weaker than anticipated? Now for the interesting part… What prevents the individual from performing at his level of intelligence? They could be problems with visual or verbal memory. It could be that your brain can’t track and scan typed text as quickly as most people. You may have been told not to pay attention, but in reality your brain can’t process verbal information as efficiently as other people. Alternatively, a person may find it extremely difficult to start a task, plan, organize and monitor its performance as it progresses. The truth is that there are many reasons why a person is not reaching the cognitive potential with which he was born.
Why would a person need an educational evaluation?
The answers to this question are quite simple. An educational evaluation completed by a qualified psychologist or psychological associate could formally establish the need for an academic program at the school that is specifically tailored to the student’s learning style. If you know a person’s learning potential and their current level of performance, you know that student’s academic strengths and needs at that time. The truth of the matter is that a school psychologist is often the key to understanding the basis of a student’s difficulties, as well as filling the role of gatekeeper for special services and academic support within a public school system.
When will I know if I or my child need an educational evaluation?
Sometimes delays in some areas of development are apparent very early. For example, if your child is developing language or fine motor skills more slowly than other children, he may need an educational evaluation at some point. If she has trouble following directions or routines at home or day care, you may want to consider watching her development more closely. If your child starts school and experiences difficulties learning numbers, the alphabet, days of the week, colors, and shapes, keep in close contact with her teacher to monitor her progress. If your child seems extremely restless, easily distracted, and/or has trouble interacting with peers, she may have some attention or behavior issues that require evaluation at a later stage.
Perhaps a parent has noticed that their child is struggling in school. Often, it is a teacher who has alerted a parent that her child has been having difficulty working at the same level as other children in her class even though they are doing their best. Sometimes it is the child who goes to the teacher or parents and lets them know that school work is very difficult for them. Crying over homework, repeatedly asking a teacher to repeat the same work, signs of low self-esteem because they fear they are “not smart” are all signs that a child’s academic performance should be monitored.
It is important to note that a person seeking an educational evaluation is not always a child. Sometimes an adult decides to complete the academic upgrade or apply as a mature student for admission to a college or university, even though he acknowledges that he experienced some learning difficulties in the past as a child. Many adults in this situation decide to investigate their learning style because there is now more modern scientific knowledge about learning disabilities and they expect more sophisticated help to be available. As children, these individuals knew they were smart and capable, but they simply couldn’t read as fast as other people in their class or had difficulty with math or writing. This adult has made the decision that he could be successful if he could find out more about the way he learns.
One step at a time……..
Find a psychologist who does educational evaluations in your area. You can find a psychologist online, the Ontario College of Psychologists, or another provincial regulatory organization. Your child’s school or pediatrician can make an appropriate referral for an educational evaluation. Make an appointment to meet with a psychologist who has experience in School Psychology and consult with them in their office. It is best for parents to meet for a one-hour interview to determine whether or not their child needs an educational evaluation. It is not advisable to bring your child with you to this first meeting. Parents will always speak more clearly about their concerns if their child is not present. More importantly, the child will not be distressed by parental concerns or teacher reports. If the appointment is for a person over the age of 18, they usually attend an admission interview on their own.
What do I tell my child or teen about having an educational evaluation?
It is important for any client, young or old, to understand that an educational assessment can identify strengths that can help the client improve academic weaknesses. Speak positively about the upcoming experience. For example, say, “You’re going to meet a person who likes to let people find out what they’re really good at. When they do, they help you get better at a subject that’s really difficult and challenging for you.”
What can I expect when I or my child begin an educational evaluation?
Expect that you or your child will attend a series of tests or assessment sessions shortly after the intake session. Most of the time, a psychologist will ask that testing sessions be scheduled earlier in the day rather than later in the day. The reason for this is that people are at their best early in the day immediately after a good sleep. This is particularly true if attention problems are suspected.
Remember, a psychologist wants to know about your abilities or intelligence. This is an important step. Therefore, an intelligence test that compares your functioning with that of others your same age is an obvious start. Once this is complete, the psychologist will want to learn more about the way your brain processes information. For example, if you hear a story, could you repeat it? How about the same story after 30 minutes? What about an image or a pattern? Could you remember that as well as the story, or better? Could the client’s brain process what he heard easily or not? Eventually, the psychologist will want to know how and what you have learned in school. Math, spelling, writing, listening and reading tests will surely follow.
An educational evaluation is a labor intensive job; that’s final. Once the psychologist has completed the tests, she may want to consult with the child’s teacher by phone or ask that teacher to fill out some questionnaires that could provide valuable information for the evaluation. The psychologist will ask the parents to bring copies of the child’s previous report cards or complete hearing and vision tests.
Once all the evidence is collected, the psychologist will begin to score the tests, read the documents provided by parents and teachers, and interpret the findings. As the evidence becomes clear to the psychologist and difficulties (if any are discovered) are determined, he or she will begin writing the report to present to the parents and school.
Coming to the feedback session……….
Sometimes parents have anticipated the results of the assessment and experience a sense of relief that their child can finally begin to get the academic support they need and improve their school experience. At other times, parents fear that the findings confirm their worst fears, a diagnosis of learning disability or another diagnosis. Parents sometimes need some time to grieve the loss of sleep from easy, carefree school days for their children.
Parents may want to meet with the psychologist more than once, particularly if the clinic may offer services that exceed the school’s budget or time.
Recommendations in the Educational Evaluation
An essential component of educational evaluation is recommendations that can help school personnel determine whether or not the student will be identified as an exceptional student. The recommendations will address learning deficits and how to accommodate the student’s specific learning style. The entire purpose of educational evaluation is to provide the parent, teacher, and ultimately the student with recommendations that are educationally relevant.
Consider some of the recommendations designed specifically for a child with a reading problem ~ A young child who has difficulty understanding the sounds that letters or groups of letters make may experience significant difficulty learning to read. This is especially true if that child also finds it difficult to ‘encode’ or store this information in long-term memory and then retrieve the information when needed. Recommendations for this child may include considerable instruction in the development of phonological skills, shared reading experiences, training in phonological awareness, and organized and explicit instruction and practice in phonics decoding. The child could benefit from individualized reading lessons with attention to the construction of meaning and comprehension.
Another client with slow processing speed might benefit from timed drills on math facts to increase speed of retrieval/recall of math facts. Other types of recommendations may include accommodations, such as additional time, recorded presentations of reading material, shortening or reformatting assignments, and breaking large assignments into smaller assignments.
Ultimately, the recommendations provided by the psychologist should be specifically designed to address the client’s school needs and clearly stated during the educational evaluation.
What will you learn after an educational assessment?
In short… It’s not that a person can’t learn… it’s that a person can just learn differently and that’s okay.
