More About Evaluations…

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Can a parent request that the school use exactly the same tests when evaluating a student for his triennial IEP?  We want the same tests conducted to compare progress.

No, there is no requirement or regulation that a school use the same tests. If a parent requests this, it’s very unlikely that a school would comply.

New versions of the most commonly administered tests come out every few years. Some schools may continue to use old versions for a few years, others may toss the old versions when they upgrade.

To prepare a case and prove that a child has not made acceptable progress, we need “apples to apples” data. We get that data from a comprehensive evaluation by an expert in the private sector. That evaluator will have copies of all prior testing on the child and and will understand why we need that data.

If you disagree with the school’s evaluation and/or findings you can request another IEE.

Go back to the Independent Evaluator who conducted the previous assessment and  ask that the tests be repeated.  You will then be able to compare progress, stagnation, or regression.

If the GORT-4 was used previously (but has now been replaced by a newer version), ask the evaluator to use the GORT-4 anyway. Explain in the report that, even though it has been replaced with the GORT-5, the 4 was used deliberately to compare changes.

More about Evaluations at https://www.wrightslaw.com/info/test.index.htm

  1. What can a parent do if they are not satisfied with a triennial evaluation and the child was declassified?

  2. If a standardized test / evaluation wont provide meaningful information for a child with auditory processing issues, expressive and receptive language delay & cognitive impairment how to I request the district to perform a test to measure progress

  3. Mary, I am a little unclear about your issue. If the parents got an evaluation from an evaluator in the private sector before the school evaluated, the information should be considered (just as any info from the parent is). Although by getting an independent evaluation before the school even evaluated student, they lost the ability to ask for reimbursement for the independent evaluation.

    Keep in mind an outside evaluation does not trigger a school evaluation necessarily. However, it can certainly provide useful information.

  4. Does the school psychologist have to accept (review) the outside psychologist’s evaluation before an M-Team meeting can be set? Where in Wright’s law or state statutes is that found? The local school goofed in not completing RTI on a student who needed referral for evaluation and have responded thusly because the parent went outside for an evaluation of their child who is in 3rd grade. Why would a school question that?

  5. If the GORT-4 was used previously (but has now been replaced by a newer version), ask the evaluator to use the GORT-4 anyway. Explain in the report that, even though it has been replaced with the GORT-5, the 4 was used deliberately to compare changes.”

    This is incorrect information. When a test is updated it is incumbent on the psychologist to write in the report why there are changes in some subtests or (inevitably) a small change in scores over time. There shouldn’t be anyone using tests that are more than one year older than the newest version of a test.

    If you’re using old tests then you’re going to get less accurate data. Bad data will lead to poor decision making about your child.

  6. I have found the one sure way to get a school to NOT perform a specific test is to request that test. Even if you can back it up with factual need, they will do every test but that one.

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