Assessing children

Many Parents ask...

"Why do I need an assessment of my child’s ability?"

It would be unusual today to find a school which did not have as part of its Mission Statement a desire that "...all children achieve their potential".

As a parent, how do you know what your child’s potential is and how do you know if the school is catering to your child’s needs?

An assessment of intellectual functioning (commonly known as an IQ test) can be completed with children as young as two years of age.

Where parents feel their child may require special educational provisions - be it extension or learning support - it is important that the child be assessed as early as possible so that appropriate educational decisions can be made.

What does an assessment involve ?

To the child, an assessment looks like puzzles and activities and most children find these activities pleasurable.

The assessment will be conducted using a test appropriate to your child's age. Reasons for the choice of test will be discussed with you. It will take approximately one and a half to two hours to complete.

The assessment involves your child completing a range of activities designed to assess various ways of processing information. These activities provide a profile of your child's specific strengths and weaknesses.

A detailed report (usually around twelve pages) will be provided to you which specifies those areas where particular educational provisions might be needed to meet your child’s needs.

Further testing can be undertaken to ascertain the year level at which your child is functioning in the classroom in specific areas such as reading, comprehension, mathematics and spelling.