Psychological Evaluation and Screening

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Contracted Clinical Services

Psychological Screening and Evaluations

Conducted by a school psychologist, this evaluation may include cognitive assessments; look at emotional and behavioral concerns, and measures of adaptive functioning. Cognitive assessments measure a student’s intellectual abilities. It gives general information relative to other students the same age. The test shows how well he problem solves, how he best interprets information (visual, auditory, etc.), and measures other areas such as memory and speed of processing information. These assessments have an overall IQ score, which is comprised of various scales. Each assessment is different, but often the scales will focus on verbal ability, nonverbal ability, spatial ability, memory, and processing speed. Each of these scales consists of subtests that measure different aspects of the ability.

A social and emotional assessment is also typically conducted. Emotional functioning may be assessed formally or informally. It may include observations and interviews. It may also include projective measures that ask a student to draw, finish a sentence, or tell a story from a picture. Evaluators look for common themes in the stories, pictures, or sentences completed by the student. Rating scales are also used to measure and quantify emotional issues and behavior relative to other students. Raters respond to a series of questions and the responses are compared to a standardized sample of other students the same age. Students, parents, and teachers may be asked to complete rating scales.