Reply to MCPS IEP testing

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Reply to "MCPS IEP testing"

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]The tests given during the evaluation will be decided at an initial meeting. This is why you need an advocate.[/quote]

this is a little reductive.  The specific tests generally are not decided at the meeting.  What is decided at the meeting is if the parent had made enough of an argument that the student passes the IEP eligibility screening decision.  Then, the committee usually discusses what areas should be tested (reading, writing, etc.), but the specific tests are usually left up to the discretion of the psychologist (because that is the only person at the IEP table with adequate knowledge about specific tests.

The psychologist's discretion about what tests to use can be influenced by what the parent, on the record in writing (i.e. in materials submitted for the IEP meeting or via email wit the psychologist) requests or expresses is an problem area.  If the parent requests specific testing for dyslexia, and the psychologist denies it, then the school is in a difficult position -- the parent can simply request an "Independent Educational Evaluation," and state that he/she thinks the testing is incomplete and therefore she disagrees with it. Most of the time the parent gets an IEE, which is a private evaluation paid for by the school system.  So, a good psychologist will do the requested testing -- maybe not the exact test (because there are technicalities about what specific skills are tested, what age is appropriate, how a specific test can/cannot be compared with other tests, etc.

I support having an educational advocate, but it can be expensive.  You do not necessarily need an advocate at the meeting if you know what you are doing. You can start off by yourself and consult an advocate by the hour, which is way less expensive than having them come to a meeting.  That said, IME, there are some IEP teams or members that simply will not listen to parents or follow the law.  Sometimes I have used an advocate to deal with this, sometimes an 
attorney, and sometimes I have just written complaint letters to the Superintendent or appropriate assistant superintendent.  TBH, the latter has always been the fastest and cheapest fix.  [/quote]

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