Firstly it will have an intelligence test which measures your child’s potential to learn. When I took a course in administering standardized tests in university, over 30 years ago now, we used the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children. I was surprised to see my son was given the same test, only a revised version. This looks at children’s reasoning: for instance, how well they can learn new information, understand cause and effect relationships, and engage in abstract reasoning. They will be given tests in these areas: spatial ability (complete visual puzzles and find similarities between random pictures); language (explain similarities between items, or reasons for common social activities); working memory ability (how well they can hold information in their memory while performing an operation with it), an example is recalling number sequences in the same and reverse order); processing speed (quickly locating specific symbols set in a background of other symbols); long-term memory fluency (retrieve both specific and general information quickly). The tests start with the easiest question and work their way up, until children can no longer answer the questions.
These test scores are compared to a series of academic tests looking specifically at what children are learning in class: for instance reading, spelling, writing, and arithmetic. They measure how well children are doing right now. The idea is to compare children’s cognitive and academic test scores to find out where the discrepancies are. Children with learning problems typically have an uneven profile. They may score in the superior range in Perceptual Reasoning Ability and in the low range for Processing Speed, and their potential and current performances are not consistent.
The assessment may also look at personality issues, anxiety, depression or attention deficit hyperactivity. These types of mental health problems however are normally handled by a family doctor, or a clinical psychologist, maybe even psychiatrist. School psychologists are not doctors so they can not diagnose or prescribe medication.
The tests usually take anywhere from six to eight hours. Depending on how things go and the child’s age, the assessment might be given over a period of one or two days. The psychologist will also ask for background information on the child: early development, health, language acquisition. Hearing and vision are also relevant. Some children have a propensity to get ear infections, which can delay their learning of sounds and words. The psychologist will also make a note of personality traits children have like willingness to do the test, perseverance, understanding of requests, and distractibility.
Usually the psychologist will write a report based on the child’s test scores and make recommendations that will help the child learn better. These recommendations will translate into an Individual Education Plan outlining specific accommodations for children in the classroom. The psychologist will hold a meeting with the parents, and school counsellor to discuss the results, and answer any questions. I like the idea of including children in the meeting. After all it is all about them. I think it makes a difference to children if they hear their test results from the psychologist who gave them the test in the first place, as opposed to their parents.