Parental concerns

Parents are justifiably concerned that their child be evaluated fairly and appropriately. They have the right to understand the purpose of the assessment, how it will be performed, how the information will be used, who will see the assessment results, and how the privacy of their child will be protected. Any professional performing an educational or psychological assessment should be willing discuss these concerns and to share the results of the assessment and their implications with the parent. Parents should be willing to share with examiners any information that might alter interpretation of the assessment results (for example, medical problems, cultural concerns).

When to ask for an assessment

Parents should request an assessment from the teacher whenever necessary to understand their child's progress, both in relation to expected grade-level expectations and performance in relation to other children in the class. Most schools and teachers offer parents many opportunities to discuss the assessment of their child. When teacher assessment indicates that a child has special needs or problems, the parent should request an evaluation by the school's child study team or an outside expert. Parents may also want to discuss appropriate assessments with their child's pediatrician and ask for an referral to a child psychologist or psychiatrist.

KEY TERMS

Authentic task assessment—Evaluation of a task performed by a student that is similar to tasks performed in the outside world.

Criterion-referenced test—An assessment that measures the achievement of specific information or skills against a standard as opposed to being measured against how others perform.

Halo effect—An observer bias in which the observer interprets a child's actions in a way that confirm the observer's preconceived ideas about the child.

Norm-referenced test—A test that measures the performance of a student against the performance of a group of other individuals.

Portfolio—A student-controlled collection of student work products that indicates progress over time.

Standardized test—A test that follows a regimented structure, and each individuals scores may be compared with those of groups of people. In the case of the Cognistat, test taker's scores can be compared to groups of young adults, middle-aged adults, the geriatric, and people who have undergone neurosurgery.

Task—A goal directed activity used in assessment.

BOOKS

Carter, Phillip, and Ken Russell. Psychometric Testing: 1000 Ways to Assess Your Personality, Creativity, Intelligence, and Lateral Thinking. New York: Wiley & Sons, 2001.

Groth-Marnat, Gary. Handbook of Psychological Assessment, 4th ed. New York: Wiley & Sons, 2003.

Joint Committee on Standards for Educational Evaluation. The Student Evaluation Standards. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press, 2003.

ORGANIZATIONS

Evaluation Center. 4405 Ellsworth Hall, Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo, MI 49008–5237. Web site: <www.wmich.edu/evalctr/jc>.

National Association for the Education of Young Children. 1509 16th Street, NW Washington, DC 20036. Web site: <www.naeyc.org>.

Tish Davidson, A.M.

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