Evaluation

This project provides technical assistance at no cost to LEAs/SSAs to facilitate the evaluation of students with disabilities. Technical assistance for evaluation may include responding to correspondence and telephone calls requesting information and visiting with evaluation specialists as needed.

This project also provides a variety of staff development activities designed to increase local district capacity to provide comprehensive and appropriate evaluations for students with special needs. These staff developments are included in the special education professional development calendar of events, on special flyers, and in brochures.

This project also facilitates the following meetings for evaluation specialists.

Leadership Evaluation Advisory Personnel: Leadership meetings for evaluation specialists will include both diagnosticians and psychologists. These meetings will focus on issues related to comprehensive and integrated evaluations of students (including issues related to the assessment of behavior). Each district,m SSAm and charter school will nominate one diagnostician and one psychologist to attend these meetings. For each meeting, either an attorney or an expert in the field o evaluation will discuss a new emerging topic. Rules and regulations, updates from TEA, and decisions from hearing officers will be discussed. Following the presentation, separate roundtable discussions will be held. (Psychologists will meet with psychologists; diagnosticians will meet with diagnosticians.) These meetings will provide opportunities for evaluation personnel to talk to others in the field, problem-solve on difficult cases, and learn about new instruments and test batteries. This leadership group will also consider and provide direction for future training opportunities in Region 10.

Issues in Bilingual Evaluation: This forum is to discuss and advance bilingual special education evaluation issues. Dr. Chris Alvarado leads discussions and trainings on state and federal regulations and litigation, new evaluation instruments, and current research involving English language learners who also receive special education services. Additionally, time is set aside to discuss individual case studies, as well work on critical-needs project aimed at advancing the field. This years project is RtI and ELL. All bilingual evaluation personnel may attend these meetings and share the information with other evaluation staff. Interpreter's Manual (This is a very long document and may take a few minutes to download.)

Issues in Traumatic Brain Injury Evaluation: The focus of the meeting is to problem-solve difficult cases for students with traumatic brain injury, other acquired brain injuries, and neurological diseases. Each session will include a discussion of cases provided by district staff who are at any stage of evaluation, placement, and intervention with the student. The sessions are facilitated by an experienced neuropsychologist familiar with school issues. Any staff working with the student is welcome to attend. The number of cases discussed during each meeting will be limited, though staff not presenting cases are encouraged to attend to both particiate in problem-solving as well as to benefit from teh discussion.

Issues in Autism Evaluation: These meetings will provide opportunities for autism evaluation personnel to talk to experts in the field, problem-solve on difficult cases and learn about new autism instruments and test batteries. Autism evaluation personnel are encouraged to attend these meetings and share the information wih other evaluation staff.

Downloads:

Interpreter's Manual

Scores and What They Mean: Module 1 (4 documents)

1. Scores Handout

2. Score module

3. Pre-Post Test Scores and What They Mean

4. Answers-Scores and What They Mean

08-09 Calendar

Contact:

Kay Torchiana

Email: Kay.Torchiana@region10.org

Phone: (972) 348-1784
Fax: (972) 348-1785