Psychodeducational/ Psychological Evaluation
What is a Psychoeducational Evaluation?
Psychoeducational/educational evaluations are types of comprehensive assessments for learners that identify cognitive, academic, and behavioral strengths and weaknesses in regard specifically to how they impact the educational experience. These evaluations are used to analyze the cognitive processes that may underlie a student’s educational difficulties and barriers to success. The personalized battery of tests can be used to identify learning disorders, including dyslexia, dysgraphia, and dyscalculia. They can also be used to diagnose mood or behavior disorders that may be present. The customized battery of assessments provided by the clinicians at HMPS meet the Texas Education Agency (TEA) requirements for the diagnosis of specific learning disability (SLD) when such a diagnosis is in question. These requirements must be met to determine student eligibility for special education support and accommodations.
Who Should Receive Psychoeducational Evaluation?
These psychoeducational/educational evaluations may be used to assist learners in getting the educational support they need at all levels of education – elementary, middle, and high school as well as college and beyond. Students may also seek an evaluation prior to taking college placement exams like the SAT and ACT while still in high school. They are also provided to colleges as documentation to ensure students receive the support they need to be successful in the college learning environment. Additionally, you may need to complete psychoeducation/educational evaluation to receive accommodations when taking graduate placement exams and professional licensing exams.
What Kind of Testing is Involved?
You may hear psychoeducational/educational evaluations referred to as learning profiles. These assessments may include a comprehensive variety of testing methods, including:
- Cognitive and achievement testing that focuses on academic strengths and weaknesses
- Emotional and behavioral assessments
- Clinical interviews
- Classroom observations
- Educational and assessment histories
- Interviews with parents, teachers, and others who can valid data about the learner
- Medical history questionnaires to identify health factors that affect learning
The main portion of the testing will be the educational evaluation through cognitive and achievement testing. Your child will be assessed on their abilities in reading comprehension, spelling, writing, and mathematics. In addition to these specific educational topics, the learner will also be assessed for their use of multiple cognitive processing abilities including verbal and nonverbal reasoning, processing speed, organization, and attentiveness. Behavioral and affective testing may consist of interviewing and observation of the student as well as reviews of past educational support and successful past learning accommodations. We may also interview or gather information and ratings from parents and teachers as well.
Following the personalized battery of tests, we provide a report outlining the findings of the student’s psychoeducational/educational evaluations. The report will include recommendations for continued educational support and accommodations to remove barriers to learning during academic testing and college education. The aim is to help learners continue to achieve their educational goals while completing college-level work. If you have questions about the results of a psychoeducational/educational evaluation, please don’t hesitate to reach out to the HMPS team. We can review the results of your assessment and help you better understand our report. If you need help working with colleges or testing administrators, we would be happy to provide consultation services to work as your advocate to schools and test providers