Massachusetts special education regulation establishes the parameters of the assessment process. 603 CMR 28.04 (2) (a – b) establishes required and optional assessment as part of the special education process. When the parent and the school district suspect that the student has a disability and the parent consents to a special education evaluation to determine if a student is eligible, the school district must be prepared to use existing evaluative information and to conduct assessment in all areas related to the child's suspected disability.
The first area that must be assessed is the area of the suspected disability(ies). Since the presence of a disability alone does not mean that a student is eligible for special education services, an educational assessment is also required for any determination of eligibility. Is Special Education the Right Service, pages 10 – 11, https://www.doe.mass.edu/sped/docs.html
Educational assessment is a mandated part of the initial and three-year evaluation process and is completed on the three-year rotating schedule (or sooner in some instances). The framework of an educational assessment is established by Massachusetts Regulation 603 CMR 28.04 (2) (a – b), requiring that Teams provide a history of the student's educational progress in the general curriculum. Include information regarding the student's specific abilities concerning learning standards of the Massachusetts Curriculum Frameworks and the district curriculum, and assessment of the student's attention skills, participation behaviors, communication skills, memory, and social relations with groups, peers, and adults. The educational assessment must also include a narrative description of the student's education and developmental potential.
School districts may recommend Health, Psychological, or Home Assessments. Parents can choose to consent or not to these assessments. If the parent(s) requests these assessments, the school district must provide them as part of the full evaluation or reevaluation. However, other assessments, besides health, psychological, or home assessments, may also be recommended by the school or requested by the parent. For all other assessments, parents continue to have the right to consent or refuse consent, and school districts have the right to refuse to conduct an additional assessment if such assessment is unrelated to the suspected disability of the student. Is Special Education the Right Service, pages 12 - 13, https://www.doe.mass.edu/sped/docs.html
The Team needs to consider the questions related to educational impact separately and concerning the disability. Since the Team will be looking at the student's ability to progress effectively in general education, the assessment should focus on the individual student and his/her performance within the learning environment.
Educational Assessment Forms A and B
Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) created Educational Assessment Forms A and B for assessment. While the assessment process is mandated by regulation (603 CMR 28.04 (2), the forms created by DESE are recommended, not mandated. The challenge with the existing recommended forms is that the questions are open-ended, requiring the writer to complete the narrative. The outcome of relying primarily on a narrative is that information is often subjective and yields little helpful information for the IEP Team. Writers report needing clarification regarding what to include in response to the open-ended questions. Remember that the educational assessment process is mandated with recommended forms provided by DESE. 603 CMR 28.03 (4) (a) states that school districts may use their forms that, at a minimum, contain the required elements. Checklists created by Allan Blume could reduce subjectiveness, yield usable and quantifiable information, and ease the process for writers. In addition, the checklists created by Allan Blume contain a place for a narrative summary required by the regulations.
Educational Summary
Educational Assessment occurs only at the time of an initial IEP or for a re-evaluation. Educational summary, on the other hand, is ongoing. Members of the IEP Team frequently and consistently document student progress relative to various skills resulting from the student’s disability Summaries occur in preparation for an annual IEP, creation of a current performance level or baseline, for writing a progress report, or for a parent/teacher meeting. Allan Blume created checklists to assist and guide Team members in gathering relevant information for the educational summaries. Like the educational assessment forms created by Allan, the summary checklists seek to reduce the amount of subjectivity while yielding usable evidence-based information for the intended purpose.