To determine the needs for a given child who is struggling, school psychologist assess the children to figure out if their set backs come from a disability to would qualify them for special education or a lack of instruction that meets their needs. In education children are assessed using one of two types of assessments, Norm-Referenced Assessments and Criterion- Referenced Assessments.
Norm – Referenced assessment compares the child being tested to there same age or same grade peers. These tests are useful when you need to measure how a child compares to others. An example of a norm – referenced assessment is the ACT’s/ SAT’s. In schools common norm –referenced assessments include the Woodcock Johnson Test of Cognitive Abilities, the Wechsler Intelligent Scale for Children, or the Woodcock Johnson Test of Achievement. These tests are most often used to determine special education eligibility.
Criterion-Referenced assessments are used to gauge how much a child has learned or what they can do. These test are useful when you want to measure a children progress or to see if an intervention is effective. An example of a criterion – referenced assessment is a teacher created math test or a teacher created spelling test. These tests are most often used to identify strengths and weaknesses in a child.
While both of these types of assessments can be used to make important decisions about a child’s education, they also have a lot of differences. Norm – referenced assessments often rank children. This is something that has created some controversies among parents and educators. I personally feel that if these tests are used properly, in conjunction with classroom observations and thorough investigation into previously tried interventions, these assessments can be the finally step in determining a child who really needs the extra help, is eligible for special education.
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