How to Prepare for an Evaluation Planning Meeting: An Oregon Parent Guide
Understanding evaluation planning, what information the team considers, and how parents can participate meaningfully in the process.
When a school is considering an initial special education evaluation or reevaluation, the team first needs to determine what information is already available and what additional information, if any, is needed.
In Oregon, this process is called evaluation planning.
For parents, an evaluation planning meeting can be an important opportunity to make sure the team understands your concerns before deciding what the evaluation should include.
What Is Evaluation Planning?
Before conducting an evaluation or reevaluation, the school team reviews existing information about the student.
This can include:
previous evaluations;
information provided by parents;
classroom-based, local, or state assessments;
classroom observations;
observations from teachers and related service providers; and
relevant medical, sensory, and health information.
Based on that review and parent input, the team determines what additional information, if any, is needed to answer important questions about the student's eligibility and educational needs.
Oregon's evaluation-planning requirements specifically include input from parents as part of this process.
What Is the Team Trying to Determine?
Evaluation planning isn't simply about deciding which tests to administer.
The team is determining what information is needed to understand questions such as:
Does the student have, or continue to have, a disability under IDEA?
What are the student's current levels of academic achievement and related developmental or functional needs?
Does the student need, or continue to need, special education and related services?
For a reevaluation, are changes or additions to the student's special education or related services needed?
Sometimes answering those questions requires additional standardized assessment.
Sometimes other forms of information are needed.
And during a reevaluation, the team may determine that the existing information is sufficient and that no additional testing is necessary.
The evaluation should be driven by the questions the team needs to answer, rather than by a predetermined list of tests.
Before the Meeting: Identify Your Questions
You don't need to know the names of specific tests to participate meaningfully in evaluation planning.
Instead, think about what you want the team to better understand about your child.
You might consider:
What is my child struggling with?
When and where do those difficulties occur?
What seems easier for my child?
What supports have helped?
What interventions have already been tried, and what happened?
Are there differences between what we see at home and what the school sees?
Has anything changed since the last evaluation?
What questions do I hope this evaluation will answer?
Concrete examples can be particularly useful.
Instead of simply saying “My child struggles with writing,” for example, you might explain that your child can verbally explain an idea in detail but has difficulty organizing those thoughts on paper, initiating written assignments, or completing written work within the expected amount of time.
That information helps the team understand the functioning behind the concern.
What Areas Might Be Considered?
Evaluations should be individualized and address all areas related to the suspected disability.
Depending on the concerns being evaluated, relevant areas might include:
academic achievement;
cognitive functioning;
communication;
social-emotional or behavioral functioning;
attention and executive functioning;
adaptive functioning;
motor or sensory functioning;
health, hearing, or vision; and
other areas relevant to the student's suspected disability and educational needs.
Not every student needs assessment in every area.
The important question is whether the proposed evaluation will provide enough information to address the areas of concern and support appropriate educational decision-making.
Questions and Concerns You Can Raise
During evaluation planning, parents can ask questions about the proposed evaluation and identify concerns they believe should be considered.
Useful questions might include:
What questions is this evaluation intended to answer?
Which areas does the team propose evaluating?
What existing information is the team relying on?
What additional information does the team believe is needed?
How will each proposed assessment help answer the team's questions?
Is there an area I raised that the team is not proposing to assess? If so, why?
How will information from parents, teachers, observations, interventions, and records be incorporated?
When should I expect the evaluation process to be completed?
You don't need to arrive with a list of test names.
Your role is to help make sure the team understands the concerns and questions that need to be addressed.
What Happens After Evaluation Planning?
If the team determines that additional evaluation is needed, the district provides notice describing the evaluation procedures it proposes to conduct and seeks informed written parental consent before conducting the evaluation.
In Oregon, initial evaluations and reevaluations generally must be completed within 60 school days from written parental consent to the meeting at which the team considers eligibility, continuing eligibility, or the student's educational needs, subject to exceptions established in Oregon's rules.
If the team determines that the student is eligible and needs special education and related services, the initial IEP meeting must be conducted within 30 days of that determination.
What If the Team Says No Additional Testing Is Needed?
This can happen, particularly during a reevaluation.
Evaluation planning begins with a review of existing information, and sometimes the team determines that it already has enough information to determine continuing eligibility and educational needs.
Under Oregon's evaluation-planning requirements, when the team determines that no additional data are needed, the district must notify the parent of that determination and the reasons for it. Parents also must be informed of their right to request assessment to determine whether the child continues to be a child with a disability and to determine the child's educational and developmental needs.
So “no additional testing” does not mean “no evaluation process occurred.” Reviewing and determining the sufficiency of existing data is itself an important part of reevaluation planning.
After the Evaluation: Focus on the Story, Not Just the Scores
When the evaluation is complete, you'll likely receive a considerable amount of information.
Individual scores matter, but the bigger question is how the information fits together.
As you review the evaluation, consider:
Does it answer the questions that led to the evaluation?
Does it explain the student's strengths and needs?
Do the conclusions make sense in light of classroom performance and other information?
Are different sources of data consistent with one another?
Does the report explain how the team reached its conclusions?
Do you understand what the findings mean educationally?
A strong evaluation should help the team make informed decisions about the student's educational needs—not simply produce a collection of test scores.
Preparing Doesn't Mean You Have to Become an Expert
Parents sometimes feel as though they need to learn special education law, assessment terminology, and the names of every available test before walking into an evaluation meeting.
You don't.
One of the most valuable things you can bring is information that only you have: your history with your child, the patterns you've noticed over time, the supports you've seen work, and the questions that still don't have answers.
The evaluation team's job is to determine how to appropriately evaluate those concerns.
Your job is to make sure your perspective is part of the conversation.
Need Help Preparing?
If you're preparing for an evaluation or trying to understand an existing school evaluation, Educational Services Collective offers structured Record Review + Consultation for Oregon families.
Record review can help clarify the information already available, identify questions you may want to raise with the school team, and help you approach the evaluation process with a clearer understanding of your child's educational history and needs.
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