Understanding your child's evaluation
Evaluation reports are full of scores and terms that can be hard to follow. Here's what the most common ones mean, in plain language.
These are general explanations to help you read a report. They aren't a diagnosis, and every child and every report is different. Bring your child's report to a free call and we'll go through it with you.
Types of evaluations
- Psychoeducational evaluation
- A set of tests that looks at how a child thinks, learns and performs in reading, writing and math. It's used to find a child's strengths and challenges, and to see whether a learning disability or other need may be present.
- Neuropsychological evaluation
- A broader evaluation, usually done by a neuropsychologist. On top of learning and academics, it can look at attention, memory, language, motor skills, social skills and emotional wellbeing, and how they fit together.
- Informal assessment
- Observations, work samples and short skill checks rather than formal standardized tests. Clinicians use these to see exactly where a student is and to plan instruction.
Understanding the scores
- Standard score
- A score that compares your child with others the same age. Most tests set the average at 100. Scores between about 85 and 115 fall in the broad average range, though reports sometimes use slightly different cutoffs and labels.
- Percentile rank
- Where your child's score falls compared with 100 children the same age. The 50th percentile is right in the middle. A score at the 30th percentile means your child scored as well as or better than about 30 out of 100 same-age peers. It is not a percentage of questions answered correctly.
- Scaled score
- Another way some tests report results, usually for smaller parts of a test. The average is 10, and scores from about 8 to 12 are typically considered average.
- Descriptive range
- The words a report uses to describe a score, such as “Low Average,” “Average” or “High Average.” Different tests use slightly different labels, so it helps to look at the score and percentile too.
- Relative strengths and weaknesses
- How a child's skills compare with each other, not with other children. A skill can be in the average range and still be a weakness for that particular child, which can explain why some tasks feel much harder than others.
How your child thinks and learns
- Full Scale IQ (FSIQ)
- An overall score that combines several areas of thinking and reasoning. When a child's individual scores are very different from each other, the overall number can hide important details, so reports often focus on the separate parts instead.
- Verbal comprehension
- How well a child understands and uses words and language, including vocabulary and explaining ideas.
- Visual-spatial reasoning
- How well a child understands what they see and how shapes and objects fit together.
- Fluid reasoning
- The ability to solve new problems and spot patterns and relationships, without relying on things already learned.
- Working memory
- Holding information in mind while using it, like remembering a set of directions while following them, or carrying numbers during mental math.
- Processing speed
- How quickly and accurately a child can take in simple information and respond. It is about speed on easy tasks, not intelligence. Slower processing speed can make timed work and copying from the board feel harder.
- Executive functioning
- The mental skills that help us plan, organize, start tasks, manage time, shift between tasks and keep track of what we're doing. These skills affect homework, long-term projects and getting through the school day.
Reading, writing and math
- Phonological awareness
- The ability to hear and work with the sounds in spoken words, such as rhyming, breaking a word into sounds, or blending sounds together. It is an important foundation for learning to read.
- Rapid automatized naming (RAN)
- How quickly a child can name a series of familiar things, like letters, numbers or colors. It is often linked to reading fluency.
- Decoding
- Using the relationship between letters and sounds to read words, especially unfamiliar ones.
- Orthographic mapping
- The process of connecting a word's sounds to its spelling so it can be read instantly by sight. This is how children build a bank of words they recognize automatically.
- Reading fluency
- Reading accurately, at a comfortable pace, and with natural expression. Fluency frees up attention for understanding what's being read.
- Reading comprehension
- Understanding and making sense of what is read.
- Written expression
- Putting ideas into writing, including organizing thoughts, building sentences, spelling, grammar and punctuation.
- Math calculation and math reasoning
- Calculation is doing math operations, like adding or multiplying. Reasoning, sometimes called problem solving, is working out which math to use, as in word problems. A child can be stronger in one than the other.
Terms and diagnoses you may see
- Specific learning disability (SLD)
- A term used in schools and reports when a child has persistent difficulty in a particular area of learning, such as reading, writing or math, that isn't explained by other factors like vision, hearing or lack of instruction.
- Dyslexia
- A learning difference that mainly affects accurate and fluent word reading and spelling. It is often connected to difficulty with the sounds in words.
- Dysgraphia
- A term often used for difficulty with writing, which can involve handwriting, spelling, or getting ideas down on paper.
- Dyscalculia
- A term often used for persistent difficulty with number sense, math facts or calculation.
- ADHD (attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder)
- A neurodevelopmental condition involving ongoing patterns of inattention, hyperactivity and impulsivity, or a mix of these, that affect daily life at school and at home.
- ASD (autism spectrum disorder)
- A neurodevelopmental condition that affects social communication and interaction, and includes repetitive behaviors or focused interests. It looks very different from one person to the next.
School supports
- IEP (Individualized Education Program)
- A written plan for public school students who qualify for special education. It sets goals and describes the specialized instruction and services the school will provide.
- 504 plan
- A plan that gives a student with a disability accommodations so they have equal access to learning, such as extra time or preferential seating. It doesn't usually include specialized instruction.
- Accommodations and modifications
- Accommodations change how a student learns or shows what they know, like extended time or audiobooks, without changing what they're expected to learn. Modifications change what they're expected to learn.
- Structured literacy and Orton-Gillingham
- Approaches to teaching reading and spelling that are explicit, systematic and step by step, often multisensory. Orton-Gillingham is one of the best-known methods, and several ALC clinicians are trained in it.
Have a report and not sure what it means?
We'll go through your child's evaluation with you and turn it into a clear plan.