Special Education Assessment

Understanding of an Assessment in Special Education

• Special educational needs assessment is a process to determine a child's specific learning strengths and weaknesses, and to determine eligibility for special education services.
• Assessment involves collecting information about a learner to make decisions.
• Assessment in educational settings serves five primary purposes.

Purpose of Assessment in Special Education

• Screening and identification: to identify children experiencing delays or learning problems.
• Identification involves singling out suspected cases of children with special needs or disabilities for assessment and intervention.
• Identification can be done by parents, doctors, social workers, teachers, siblings, and peers.
• Some children may excel in certain areas but have deficiencies in others.
• Steps leading to normal identification include:
  • Suspecting the child's exception and looking for the root cause of the problem.
  • Viewing the child's developmental condition, family, school, and surrounding society.
  • Monitoring the child's learning progress, age, performance, attendance, and duration.

Other Purposes of Assessment

• Eligibility and diagnosis: determining whether a child has a disability and is eligible for special education services, and diagnosing the specific nature of the learner's problems or disability.
• IEP development and placement: developing an IEP to provide detailed information for making decisions about the child's educational placement.
• Instructional planning: developing and planning instruction appropriate to the child's special needs.
• Evaluation: making a judgment about the learner's progress.

General Principles of SEN Assessment

• Guiding principles for assessors include:
  • Meeting the needs of children with special educational needs.
  • Meeting special educational needs in mainstream schools or settings.
  • Seeking and taking into account the views of the child.
  • Recognizing the vital role of parents in supporting their child's education.
  • Offering full access to a broad, balanced, and relevant education for children with special educational needs.