Is Your Child Getting the Most From School?
Does your child balk at doing homework? Does she complain about being bored in class? Is he struggling in one or more subject areas? Has your child’s teacher complained about persistent inattention, distractibility, or a failure to complete tasks? Children exhibiting these behaviors could benefit from educational testing to determine the cause of these difficulties. Testing is an essential tool for the evaluation of academic strengths and weaknesses in children. Testing is used to diagnose learning disabilities, as well as to identify gifted children. Gifted children are those of very high intelligence who can benefit from specialized programming to further develop their abilities. A learning disability is diagnosed when a child of average or above average intelligence demonstrates a significant weakness in one or more skill areas.
There are two ways to obtain an educational evaluation for your child. You can request one from your child’s school. There is no charge for this service, but often students wait for several months before the evaluation is completed. An evaluation can also be done by a psychologist in private practice. Be sure that the psychologist you choose is licensed in this state, in order for the results to be accepted by the public schools.
An I.Q. test is the first step in evaluating a child’s learning ability. An I.Q. test measures a child’s general ability level, or potential. The results of this test allow the examiner to make predictions about what the child’s level of performance in school should be. A child with an above average I.Q. is capable of performing very well in school. Similarly, a child with an I.Q. that is significantly below average is likely to have greater difficulty mastering academic skills. However, I.Q. is only one factor that influences school performance. Many children with I.Q.s in the average range perform well above average in their academic subjects in school; these children demonstrate a high level of motivation and effort.
The most widely used I.Q. tests are individually administered and are available for preschoolers through adults. The tests are comprised of a variety of subtests that assess skills in verbal reasoning, visual-spatial, processing speed and working memory domains. Achievement tests are tests of specific academic content areas, such as reading, mathematics, written language, science, social studies, etc. These tests are used to determine whether a child has learned what he or she is expected to learn given his age or grade placement.
Determination of a Learning Disability is made if there is a significant discrepancy between the child’s I.Q. (potential) and achievement (actual performance) in one or more areas. If a child of average or above average I.Q. has an achievement score in a given content area that is significantly below average, it is likely that a learning problem is present.
It is important to review social, emotional or behavioral concerns regarding your child. These factors can adversely affect school performance. For example, if a child is anxious about a serious illness in a family, that anxiety can affect his ability to concentrate and pay attention, thus resulting in poor performance. The psychologist may administer other tests or questionnaires to provide additional information regarding these factors.
Gifted evaluation simply requires an I.Q. test. In addition, the classroom teacher may be asked to complete a rating scale to determine whether the child has the characteristics seen in gifted children. When evaluating a child for giftedness, it is important to note that many high achieving children do not have I.Q.s in the gifted range (the top 2% of all scores). Further, an I.Q. in the gifted range does not guarantee school success; as noted earlier, motivation and effort are significant factors as well.
Once testing is completed, you should meet with your child’s guidance counselor and teacher to discuss the results and to determine the need for any special placements or services in order to address your child’s needs. If you have obtained your evaluation privately, bring a copy of the report to the guidance counselor, who will begin the process to determine your child’s eligibility for special placement.
Educational and psychological testing can help parents to effectively address his or her child’s educational needs and to ensure that each child receives the assistance necessary to achieve their educational goals.
