Grand Erie Special Education Plan 2023-24
Standard 6
Educational and Other Assessments
The purpose of the standard is to provide details of the board’s assessment policies and procedures to the ministry and to make parents aware of the types of assessment tools used by the school board, the ways in which assessments are obtained by IPRCs, and the ways in which assessments are used.
Early identification of areas of needs and intervention include assessments, monitoring, instruction, intervention and community support, as needed. Using a tiered model, assessments are provided to support student achievement. The results of every assesssment are intended to provide data on how best to support student achievement in their current classroom placement.
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- Many early identification procedures and strategies will be utilized for all students to understand the profile of the learners and provide a program that respects their strengths, interests, and areas requiring direct instruction.
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- Some teachers require more information to support the development of the learners’ profiles. Some standardized assessments are completed by trained staff to gather this data and support responsive instruction.
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For a few students who are not demonstrating the anticipated growth in response to direct instruction, it may be determined by the Resource Team that further standardized assessments are required to identify how best to meet the needs of the student.
Grand Erie strongly supports an early identification and intervention process for students with special education needs. The steps listed are part of the continuous assessment and program planning needed to support understand the learning profile of a student. There are a variety of assessments, from informal to formal, requiring increased expertise and training by the Individual administering the assessment.
Referring a Student for an Assessment
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- Provide on-going assessment within the classroom for, as and of learning.
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- In collaboration with the School Team, it may be determined that further assessment and intervention is an appropriate next step.
- LRT may complete a Woodcock Johnson IV or another educational assessment to provide recommendations and strategies to develop a responsive intervention plan to be implemented by school personnel.
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The Resource Team may recommend:
- Programs or services and establish a date to review progress.
- A Psycho-Educational or Speech and/or Language assessment by a qualified professional.
- A referral to community professionals such as Occupational or Physio therapists
Types of Assessments Used to Assist in the Development of Appropriate Educational Programs
Assessments are intended to assist the student by providing staff with insights into the student’s strengths, needs and learning profile. Three types of assessments are conducted by personnel within Grand Erie: Educational, Psycho-educational, and Speech and Language.
Educational Assessments
- These assessments are made for learning, as learning, and of learning (Learning For All, 2013). They identify strengths and weaknesses of the individual.
- Recommendations and/or strategies support the development of next steps of instruction, using tiered intervention.
Standardized Assessments
Tests of Perceptual Development
- These are tests and/or observations that may indicate strengths/weaknesses with the processing of visual and/or auditory information.
Test of Intellectual Abilities
- These are tests that measure an individual’s ability levels at a given point in time. The purpose of an intellectual assessment is to identify a learning profile and assist in educational programming.
Tests of Academic Achievement
- These are standardized tests which measure an individual’s performance on reading, spelling and mathematics and are norm referenced.
Psycho- Educational Assessments
- A psycho-educational assessment may include tests of intellectual abilities, perceptual processing and academic achievement.
- These tests are conducted by a Psycho-educational Consultant or Psychological Associate who are qualified to administer such tests. Psycho-educational Consultants are supervised by Psychological Associates, who are members of the College of Psychologists of Ontario.
Behaviour Assessments
Functional Behaviour Assessment
- A process that identifies target behaviour, and behaviour function, to understand what maintains behaviour. This leads to intervention plans to teach alternative behaviours and social skills.
Behavioural Assessments:
- These assessments measure a child’s adjustment to social situations.
- They are conducted by qualified personnel and may involve observations or checklists.
Speech- Language Assessments
- Include tests of articulation, voice, stuttering and receptive and expressive language. These tests are conducted by Speech-Language Pathologists.
Speech: These tests may involve the following:
- assessment of the child’s ability to produce speech sounds and control themuscles and oral structures required for speech; assessment of vocal quality, pitch, loudness and resonance; assessment of stuttering.
Language: These tests may involve the following:
- assessment of the child’s understanding of oral language; assessment of the child’s ability to orally express himself/herself; assessment of a child’s needs for additional communication support.
Educational measures are limited to achievement testing of individual students both by formal and informal means. Responsibility for training of staff to use these assessment tools is assumed by the Program/Student Success Team if the assessment is to be administered by classroom teachers to inform program delivery for all students.
For Educators
- Early Literacy Assessment Tool (ELAT)
- Benchmark Assessment System (BAS)
- Groupe Beauchemin (GB+) – French Immersion
Standardized measures are used to identify the student’s strengths and needs and are delivered in a standardized manner. Responsibility for training of staff to use these assessment tools is assumed by the Specialized Services Department.
For Learning Resource Teachers
- Woodcock Johnson IV Tests of Achievement
- Canadian Cognitive Abilities Test (CCAT 7) is administered in grade 3 to all students to develop a more comprehensive profile of the students.
Psychological measures are used by Psychological Associates and Psycho-Educational Consultants. All are administered individually to students after informed consent from parents/caregivers has been obtained. They can be subdivided into various types. Among the most frequently used tests are the following:
a. Global Cognitive/Intellectual measures:
- Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children – Fifth Edition (WISC V) (Canadian norms) Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale – Fourth Edition (WAIS-IV) (Canadian norms) Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence – Fourth Edition
- (WPPSI-IV) (Canadian norms)
- Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scale – Fifth Edition (SB5)
- Wechsler Nonverbal Scale of Ability (Canadian norms)
b. Academic Achievement and Processing Measures
- Kaufman Test of Individual Achievement – Third Edition (Canadian norms) Wechsler Individual Achievement Test Third Edition.
- Beery Buktenica Developmental Test of Visual-Motor Integration – Sixth Edition (VMI-6) Beery VMI Developmental Test of Visual Perception – Sixth Edition
- Beery VMI Developmental Test of Motor Coordination – Sixth Edition
- California Verbal Learning Test – Children (CVLT-C)
- Children’s Colour Trails Test
- Comprehensive Test of Phonological Processing – Second Edition (CTOPP-2)
- Delis-Kaplan Executive Function System (DKEFS)
- NEPSY-A Developmental Neuropsychological Assessment – Second Edition
- Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test: Fifth Edition (Forms A & B) (PPVT)
- Process Assessment of Learning – Second Edition (Language and Math) (PAL-II)
- Rey Complex Figure Test (RCFT)
- Test of Memory and Learning – Second Edition (TOMAL-2)
- Test of Orthographic Competence (TOC) • Test of Visual Perception-Forth Edition
d. Surveys and Checklists:
- Adaptive Behaviour Assessment System – Third Edition (various forms) (ABAS-3)
- Behaviour Assessment Scale for Children – Third Edition (various forms) (BASC-III)
- Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function – Second Edition (BRIEF2)
- Brown Executive Function/Attention Scales (various forms)
- Childhood Autism Rating Scale – Second Edition (CARS-2)
- Conners Third Edition
- Gillam Autism Rating Scale – Second Edition (GARS-2)
- Multi-dimensional Anxiety Scale for Children: Second Edition (MASC-II)
- Piers-Harris Children’s Self-Concept Scale – Second Edition
Speech-Language assessments are completed by Speech-Language Pathologists. Formal measures used to evaluate speech (articulation/phonology, fluency, resonance, voice) and oral language (receptive and expressive, vocabulary, phonological awareness, social/pragmatic language) include:
a. Speech/Phonological Processes:
- Fletcher Time-By-Count Test of Diadochokinetic Syllable Rate Goldman Fristoe Test of Articulation – 3 (GFTA-3)
- Kaufman Speech Praxis Test (KSPT)
- Structured Photographic Test of Articulation –D: III(SPAT-D:3)
- Stuttering Severity Instrument – 4
b. Language:
- Bankson Language Test – 2 Screen (BLT-2S)
- Clinical Evaluation of Language Fundamentals – Fifth Edition (CELF-5)
- Clinical Evaluation of Language Fundamentals – Primary (Third Edition)
- Clinical Evaluation of Language Fundamentals, Fifth Edition
- Metalinguistics Expressive One Word Picture Vocabulary Test - 3
- Language Processing Test – 3 (LPT-3)
- Montgomery Assessment of Vocabulary Acquisition (MAVA)
- Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test – Fifth Edition (Forms A & B)
- Preschool Language Scale – 5 (PLS-5)
- Rapid Automatized Naming/Rapid Alternating Stimulus Tests (RAN/RAS)
- Social Language Development Test – Elementary (SLDT-E NU)
- Structured Photographic Expressive Language Test – 3 (SPELT-3)
- Structured Photographic Expressive Language Test – Preschool Second Edition (SPELT-P2)
- Test of Aided Communication Symbol Performance (TASP)
- Test of Narrative Language - 2 (TNL-2)
- Test of Problem Solving – Third Edition (TOPS-3) Test of Problem Solving 2 -Adolescents
- Test of Word Finding – 3 (TWF-3)
- The Listening Comprehension Test – 2 (LCT-2) The Word Test – 3: Elementary
- The Word Test – 3: Adolescent
- Wiig Test of Basic Concepts (WABC)
c. Phonological/Phonemic Awareness
- Emerging Literacy Language Assessment (ELLA)
- Pre-Reading Inventory of Phonological Awareness (PIPA) Profile of Phonological Awareness (PROPA)
d. Motor Speech
- Dynamic Evaluation of Motor Speech Skills (DEMSS) Informal Tool for Early Motor Speech (ITEMS)
Qualifications of Staff
Educational assessments are conducted by teachers who are governed by the Education Act, and regulated by the College of Teachers (www.oct.ca). Psychological assessments are administered by psychologists, psychological associates, and psycho-educational consultants. Psychologists/psychological associates and those they supervise are governed by the Regulated Health Professions Act, 1991. Only psychologists/psychological associates provide and communicate diagnoses. Psychologists and Psychological Associates are members of the College of Psychologists of Ontario (www.cpo.on.ca).
Speech-Language assessments are administered by Speech-Language Pathologists who are also governed by the Regulated Health Professions Act, 1991 and belong to the College of Audiologists and Speech Language Pathologists of Ontario (www.caslpo.com).
Referrals Management and Wait Times
Individual assessments are completed to support educational program planning. Referrals for assessment are considered and prioritized through the Resource Team process. Meetings are held at least every six weeks with an agenda determined by the School Team which has already accessed expertise within the school building including a review of classroom-based assessment, standardized educational assessment (WJ-IV), participation in intensive early literacy intervention programs if appropriate, and the thorough implementation of Tier 1 strategies.
Resource Team (RT) discussion includes programming to support educational (academic and well- being) needs based on available information, and recommendations for an assessment by a medical professional such as hearing/vision, if required. If a referral for further assessment is not deemed to be necessary at the time of the Resource Team meeting then careful monitoring of progress to reconsider this decision in the future is, an intervention plan and timelines to bring back to the RT are developed and left with the School Team for implementation. Prioritizing of referrals takes into account:
- severity of needs
- request for outside agency involvement
- school setting of priorities
Referrals for assessment are logged centrally using the Learner Intervention for Tracking Excellence (LITE) process.
Wait times for speech-language assessments range from 1 to 13 months. Using a tiered intervention framework, the service delivery approach is developed based on student and school needs. For example, some schools might receive a block or even several blocks of service while others, based on comparative need, might not receive any blocks of direct intervention, but will have service delivered in a less intensive approach (i.e., Home Programming, classroom strategies to develop skills).
All direct interventions with students are conducted only with written parent/caregiver consent which typically includes individual discussions with the parent/caregiver to ensure that the consent is informed and voluntary. Limits of confidentiality, privacy of information, likely use of the assessment information, and distribution of the report are also discussed. Students 18 years of age or older, provide their own consent.
Results of individual Standardized Educational/Psycho-educational/Speech-Language assessments are communicated through a meeting or telephone call with the parent/caregiver and a written copy of the assessment report is provided. Meeting face-to-face so that assessment findings and recommendations can be used to collaboratively determine next steps in program planning is preferred. Student participation in these discussions is determined in consultation with their parent/caregiver.
Appropriate school staff are involved when assessment results are reviewed with the parent/caregiver. Reports prepared by professionals outside the Board are reviewed to determine what information provided helps delineate a student’s learning needs, strengths or challenges and how it can be used for the improvement of instruction within a school context and in accordance with the Education Act, (R.S.O. 1990, S.226(2)). Where this information differs from data collected at the school, the Resource Team will determine how best to proceed. There is no requirement that assessments or reassessments must be conducted by Board personnel (i.e., reports are "transportable"). Allocation of educational resources and educational programming decisions remain the responsibility of school/system staff.
Protection of Privacy and Consent for Sharing Information
Privacy of Information is protected under the Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (MFIPPA) and the Personal Health Information Protection Act (PHIPA). Assessment reports are filed in the student’s Ontario Student Record (OSR) folder. The original report is housed in a confidential Psychology or Speech-Language Record which is maintained for 10 years after the date of last contact or 10 years after the child turns 18 years of age in accordance with the Regulation Health Professions Act (RHPA).
Written authorization from the parent/caregiver or student over 18 years of age is obtained prior to releasing reports to outside agencies.
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