As the school year wraps, I clean and organize student records. These records are for my public school students and my private business students. I am always amazed and overwhelmed by the number of evaluations I have conducted. This year’s total evaluations were way over 37 students. These evaluations are a requirement for Special Education Services. It helps the team measure progress and map a student’s learning profile. The evaluation count for my private students, on average, is about 10 evaluations a year. I run Beacon Valley Literacy Services. It is a small, small, business to support kids and families and these evaluations are part of it. I have learned a lot in both roles doing these evaluations.
Here are the top three takeaways from my evaluations;
- Kids are Moving Targets
The minute the ink dries on the evaluation the student has learned something new. They probably struggled with something else. Or matured to new levels of confidence. These reading evaluations are extremely important and valuable. However, it measures one moment in time. The information needs to be combined with so many other factors. These factors and information are centered around the student at that moment. A strong file review, discussing past performance, and this consideration are important. - Evaluation Results
There is no ethical way or reason to leverage results. Sometimes the need for an evaluation is to fight for your child’s rights. You may need to determine eligibility or get appropriate services. The tests are straightforward and research based so the results are the results. If an evaluator has made no mistakes and been fully trained then the results are valid. You really can’t make students seem as if they performed better or performed worse. The results are the results. However, an evaluator may not interpret the student’s past performance, demographics, and other information correctly. That could cause questions between a student’s actual academic performance and the results of these evaluations. For example, a student may be a straight-A student and still have Dyslexia. A student may struggle with self-confidence and executive functioning issues. This looks like poor performance due to a reading disability but it’s not. Basically, a team or parents may have expectations. They may want answers from an evaluation but I have learned to expect the unexpected. Sometimes the answers lie elsewhere. That is also the purpose of an evaluation. - Testing Conditions and Emotions
If a student hates testing the results will not be accurate. Sometimes students have struggled and experienced failure so much. Academic testing adds to these feelings. The testing is different than classroom-based tests. Most students tend to find it better but past emotions have an impact. Also, these tests can be long and the time it takes can be a lot for some students. These factors have to be noted in the evaluation and deeply considered.
All these factors must be considered when considering an Independent Education Evaluation. They also have to be considered if the school completes the evaluation. As you read this, think about these takeaways. You can use them to interpret the results of previous assessments as well. There are a lot of questions that pop up as a parent if you reach this stage. If you have questions about these stages. I have answers.
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Melissa Saliva is a Reading Consultant and founder of Beacon Valley Literacy Services. She helps parents help kids with dyslexia.
The opinions expressed in this publication are those of the authors. The material and information contained on this website are for general information purposes only.