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Making the Grade
What Parents Should Know About Psychological Testing By Teri Brown
- Evaluation instruments are valuable tools whose effectiveness depends on the skill and knowledge of the professional using them. Seek a qualified, experienced professional.
- Find out if your child's school accepts outside, private evaluation reports before you invest the money for such an evaluation.
- Evaluation results should always be interpreted in light of a child's cultural background, primary language and physical capabilities.
- Evaluations are samples of behavior – not absolute predictors of the future. Test scores are only estimates and should be reported as a statement of probability.
- Evaluation results should be interpreted in relationship to other behaviors and to case history information, not in isolation.
- Evaluation results are dependent on a child's cooperation and motivation.
- No battery of tests can give a complete picture of any child – it can only highlight various areas of functioning at the time of testing.
- A child who has speech/language difficulties is often mislabeled as a child with low cognitive functioning, so proper assessment of speech/language functioning is essential.
- The evaluation process can be time-consuming and expensive and may not be covered by insurance.
- Testing should not be repeated more often than every two to three years as a general rule.
- Be sure you receive a written report and that you're provided with explanations that make sense to you and which outline possible solutions.
- Most evaluations include interviews with parents, a gathering of family history, a developmental and school history and an interview with past and present teachers.
- Good observation and documentation is critical.
- A team mentality is important.
- Remember to respond to your child when he/she is struggling with support, consistency and clarity. Being angry at your child does not "fix" the problem but may make it worse!
- Many, many children and their families are assisted by proper evaluations because solutions can be more focused (the nature of the problem may not be what it appears to be).
