Educational Assessment Case Study

Educational assessment typically is recommended when a student has not met academic expectations. There are various standardized tests and methods that can be useful identifying a student’s academic strengths, weaknesses, competence with specific material, yet other factors may explain a discrepancy in ability-namely limitations resulting physical or cognitive impairments. As such, nonacademic functional tasks should be included in an assessment of a student’s educational difficulties and incorporated into the educational plan (Pearson Education, Inc., 2008).
Educational assessment has two primary functions. The first of these is to determine a student’s eligibility for special education services, as prescribed by the Individuals with Disabilities

Assessment for Vince would be different than the typical testing for cognitive limitations, disruptive behaviors, and safety risks. The function of assessment is not solely to garner a diagnosis, but meant to identify the issues causing him to have difficulty adapting to the traditional classroom environment (Holdnack, n.d.). Ethical considerations by the school psychologist should include safeguarding against various forms of bias, or preconceived ideas surrounding Vincent’s situation. Collecting as much relevant data, interviewing his family as well as himself, getting records and the like will help to better inform the situation before any diagnosis can be made. This could be further complicated if the psychologist ever had teenage boys of his own, as he may have a knee-jerk tendency to assume stereotypical behaviors if not

Data collected from all these sources would help the school psychologist identify, diagnose, and develop a treatment plan specifically tailored to Sheila, her difficulties, and her needs. Should intervention prove ineffectual for Sheila, she should then be referred for a more comprehensive evaluation. Progress must be clearly defined, with specific goals, documented, and in the absence of acceptable progress longer than two years should receive more intensive assessment (Holdnack,