Allen Chapter 10

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Chapter 10
Assessment and the IFSP/IEP Process

Assessment of Young Children
• There are six interrelated steps:
– Screening
– Determining eligibility
– Determining services
– Planning the program
– Monitoring progress
– Evaluating the program

(continued)
• Criterion-referenced assessment
– A child’s progress is measured against a
preset standard.
– These are helpful in planning.
– The child is not compared to other children.

(continued)
• Norm-referenced tests
– A child is compared to other children of the
same age.
– These are not as helpful with young children.
– It is used as a screening process to begin
further testing.

(continued)
• IQ tests
– Most are norm-referenced.
– The purpose is to attempt to determine how
much a child knows, how well the child solves
problems, and how quickly a child can
perform a variety of mental tasks.
– Scores should be used with caution.
– High scores as a young child are not a
determining factor of future intelligence.

The Process of Early Identification
• Case finding
– Identifying children early to prevent further
developmental delays.
– Child Find
• Established in the 1960s.
• To publicize information to families on disability
services and where to find help.

(continued)
• Screening
– This is a process to identify children.
– It uses low-cost, easily administered tests to
identify children.
– Screening tests need to be reliable and valid.
– Results are not a diagnosis.
– Follow-through is essential.

(continued)
• Types of screening instruments
– DIAL 4
– Denver II
– ESI-R
– ASQSE

(continued)
• Who does the screening?
– Professionals and paraprofessionals screen.
– Depending on the screening, a certain level of
training may be required.
– Little training is required for the Snellen Eye
Screening, but specialized training is required
for a hearing screening.

(continued)
• Limitations of screening
– It is only a snapshot of the child at that time.
– The child was probably in a new place with
new people and had difficulty focusing.
– Use results to begin the evaluation process.

The Family’s Role in Assessment
• Cultural, ethnic, and linguistic differences
– Assessment must be conducted in a child’s native
language.
– Assessments must be designed for use in the native
language, not just translated.
– Assessments should be given by a cultural mediator,
fluent in both languages.
– Multiple forms of information should be collected.
– Test items should measure a child’s strengths and
weaknesses.

Teachers’ Role in Early Identification
• Teachers’ qualifications
– Teachers see the children daily and
understand child development.
– They are trained to notice the differences in
development.

(continued)
– Teacher as observer
• The teacher is trained to observe all children and
record what they see.
• They are able to note differences in daily
interactions as well as see problems over the long
run.
• Teachers use facts when recording observations
and not opinions or subjective statements.

(continued)
– Systematic observations
• Teachers need to develop a system to collect
observation data.
• All observations should include:
– Child’s name
– Date and time
– Setting
– Initials of observer

(continued)
• Types of Observations
– Checklists
• This is a list of skills in which the observer records
whether the child can or cannot do a skill.
• Often this is done throughout the day, not in a
contrived setting.

(continued)
– Frequency counts
• These are tally marks collected every time a child
does a behavior.
– Duration measures
• When a behavior occurs, the observer notes the
time and then notes the time when the behavior
ends.

(continued)
– Anecdotal notes
• These are short, concise notes taken about a child
while doing an activity.
• These notes then are turned into recording that a
parent can read and comment on.

(continued)
– Running record
• This is a narrative recording of everything a child
did, said, and responded to.
• They involve complete concentration of the
observer on the one child.

(continued)
– Logs, journals, and diaries
• These are similar to running records, yet not as
formal.
• A teacher may use these for one-on-one planning.
• Notes to teacher not necessarily to be shared with
parents.

(continued)
– Time sampling
• Brief, periodic observations to determine the
presence or absence of a behavior.
– Language samples
• Verbatim recordings of what the child says or what
sounds the child makes.
– Portfolio assessment
• Samples of the child’s work collected over the
year.

(continued)
• Cautionary notes for teachers
– Avoid making diagnoses.
– Avoid labeling a child.
– Avoid jumping to conclusions.
– Develop a good relationship with families.
– Listen carefully.
– Make careful judgments.
– Be culturally sensitive.

Individualized Family Service Plan
• The IFSP is designed to work with families of
infants and toddlers with disabilities to identify
priorities, resources, and concerns.
• Family is a key component.
• Services are decided, and families are given
support to utilize these services.

(continued)
• IFSP requirements
– Pre-referral and case conferencing
• A parent and teacher meet to discuss concerns,
both share information, and a decision is made as
to whether further screening is necessary.
– Identification of needs
• Children are screened to see where they are
developmentally.
• Strengths as well as concerns are noted.
• Family input is given into prioritizing the findings.

(continued)
– Non-intrusiveness
• The law protects families’ privacy by not allowing
professionals to ask questions that invade their
cultural beliefs and practices.
• Families should not feel like they are in the hot
seat through this process.
• They should instead feel like a vital member of the
team.

(continued)
– IFSP evaluation
• It must be evaluated at least once a year.
• Changes are made to goals that have been met,
and goals not met are re-evaluated for the new
year.
– Service coordination
• The service coordinator aligns all the services and
serves as the mediator between the professionals
and the parents.
• Their job is also to help a parent find transportation
to services needed by the child.

(continued)
– Parents as service coordinators
• Parents should be praised if they want this role.
• Training is required.
• Leadership is a needed skill to help their child in
the future, so encourage parents to take this step
now.
– Program-to-program transition
• The law requires that planning for a new program
is written into the child’s IFSP.
• It should be as smooth as possible, and parents
should have input.

Individualized Education Program
• IEP is the educational plan for students
once they reach the school system.
• Classroom practice and treatment are
linked.

(continued)
• The IEP team
– Made up of professionals from various
disciplines
– Parents
– Child’s teacher – general and special
education
– An IEP team—multidisciplinary,
transdisciplinary, or interdisciplinary

(continued)
• Requirements of the IEP
– Based on developmentally valid,
nondiscriminatory assessment information.
– List child’s present level of performance.
– Identify short-term objectives and long-term
goals.
– Specify the services to be provided and dates.
– Ensure accountability.
– Identify where and when services will be
provided.

(continued)
• Assessment
– Must be done over a period of time.
– Must include more than one assessment
showing a disability.
– Is used as a piece of the puzzle to identify
areas of need for the child.

(continued)
• Annual goals
– These are broad goals to accomplish
throughout the year.
– They are specific to that child.
• Writing goals
– SMART IEPs
• Short-term objectives
– These are the ministeps that will be taken to
achieve the long-term goals.

(continued)
• Specific services to be provided
– Any specialized services that the child will
need are listed here.
– Activity-based intervention
– It should also list where the services will take
place.
• Pull out
• Naturalistic intervention

(continued)
• Projected dates for service
– The dates that the child will begin receiving
services is noted.
– Also the ending date or re-evaluation date is
included.
– It is required that a child be re-evaluated to
determine whether services are still needed or
whether a change in services is needed.

(continued)
• Discipline
– If behavior is an issue, a functional behavior
assessment should be conducted.
• Evaluation
– At least once a year a child’s IEP needs to be
evaluated and new goals written for the new
year or old goals revised.
– Every three years the child is re-evaluated to
determine if services are still necessary.

(continued)
• Computer-based information systems
– Online systems to support IEP development.

504 Plans
• Requirements of the 504 plan
– Student must have
• Physical or mental impairment that limits life
activities.
• Have a records of such an impairment.
• Be regarded as having such an impairment.
– Student must still be assessed to determine
eligibility

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