Prior to any assessment plan a parent or guardian must sign a consent form that indicates which standardized tests would be given to the student. These could be for the first IEP meeting, the triennial meeting and yearly meetings.

The standardized tests are categorized into eight areas of assessment. This information is what I have as a parent to two children within the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD).

1. Health and Development, including vision and hearing - this is for evaluating medical conditions and health issues. Consideration of need for special equipment as well.

The instruments used for this assessment include Air and Bone Conduction Test, Hearing and Vision Screening, Impedance Audiometry, Otoacoustic Emissions Test, Physical Examination, Speech Awareness Test, Speech Discrimination Test and Speech Reception Test.

The persononal for these tests would be nurse, physician, audiologist and other.

2. General Ability - evaluates the ability to process, comprehend, integrate, analyze, synthesize and apply information.

Tests include - Children's memory scale, cognitive assessment scales, comprehensive test of Phonological processing, learning efficiency test II, Matrix analogies test-expanded form, test of visual perception skills and Woodcock-Johnson Language proficiency battery (Eng/Spanish)

These would be performed by Psychologist.

3. Academic Performance - Evaluates school readiness, reading, written language, speech and alternative coommunication appropriately - including consideration of need for specialized equipment.

These include Brigance Inventory of Early Development, Brigance-R-Comprehensive Inventory of Basic Skills, Kaufman Survey of Early Academic and Language Skills, Kaufman Test of Educational Achievement, Peabody Individual Achievement Tests.

Special Education Teacher and other personnel would administer the tests.

4. Language Function - evaluates the ability to receive, understand and use verbal language, speech and alternative communication appropriately.

Clinical Evaluation of Language Function (Eng/Span), Comprehensive Test of Phonological Processing, Goldman-Fristoe Test of Articulation, Language Assessment Scales (Eng/Span), Oral Written Language Scales Test of Language/Development, Preschool Language Scale, Photo Articulation Test, Woodcock-Johnson Language Proficiency Battery (Eng/Span).

These tests are conducted by Language and Speech Therapist, Psychologist, Special Education Teacher and Other personnel.

5. Motor Abilities - evaluates the use of large and small muscles, general physical conditioning, motor and hand-eye coordination skills and sensory processing in educational settings and activities. This also includes the consideration of need for specialized equipment.

These tests include adapted physical education assessment scales (APEAS), Bender-Gestalt Visual Motor Integration Test, Bruininks-Oseretsky Test of Motor Proficiency, Developmental Test of Visual Motor Integration, Evaluation Tool of Children's Handwriting, Peabody Development Motor Skills, Gross Motor Function Assessment Scale, School Function Assessment, Sensory Profile and test of Visual Perception Skills.

They are performed by Psychologist, adaptive PE Teacher, special ed teacher, occupational therapist, physical therapist and other personnel.

6. Social-Emotional Status - evaluates behavior, social-emotional development and the ability to get along with others.

The tests include achenbach system of empirically based assessment, behavior assessment system for children, childhood autism rating scale (CARS), Children's Depression Inventory, Conners' Rating scales, Piers-Harris children's self-concept scale, Roberts apperception test for children.

These are done by the psychologist, special ed teacher and other related personnel.

7. Self-Help, Including Orientation and Mobility - evaluates adaptive behavior and the ability to perform daily activities required for personal, domestic and community sufficiency/responsibility.

The tests are adaptive behavior evaluation scale, childhood autism rating scale, scale of independent behavior, vineland adaptive behavior scales.

The Psychologist, Special Ed teacher and other personnel conduct these tests.

8. Career and Vocational Ability/Interests - evaluates interests, preferences and readiness to help prepare for post high school living.

This is by the Special Education teacher through surveys, observations, inventories and questionnaires.

Parents have fifteen (15) days to sign and consent to the Special Education Assessment Plan and then the school has fifty (50) days from the receipt of your signature to complete the assessments and hold an IEP meeting. This does not count school vacations that are greater than five (5) days.

When signing the plan you can note that you want copies of these assessments 5 or 10 days prior to the scheduled IEP meeting.

Assessments, Assessments, Assessments"

IEP Overview

IEP Goals and Progress Reports

Evaluations and what they mean to your child

Parent to Parent IEP Prep

Childhood Autism Rating Scale CARS

Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scale

Classroom Modifications

LAUSD Reference Guides


Education World

How to handle disagreements at IEP Meetings

Visual Motor Test