Psycho-Educational Testing: Does your child need it?

What is Psycho-Educational Testing?

Psycho-Educational Testing is sometimes called psych-ed evaluation. This form of evaluation is designed to empower caretakers and key care providers with the information required to promote the child’s greatest potential for developmental success. It is common for a Psycho-Educational Evaluation to include the child, the child’s caretakers, the child’s teachers, and when appropriate, the child’s key primary healthcare providers. 

Psycho-Educational Testing evaluates the unique way a child learns by assessing the child’s strengths and weaknesses in five core areas:

1. Background and environmental influences: This initial stage involves extensive interviews and background research of the child’s family and environment, academic records, medical history, etc. Caregivers and teachers may be asked to complete assessment forms to collect information to be used as part of the evaluation process.
    
2. Cognitive assessment skills: This portion will measure the child’s cognitive capabilities and how the child processes information, reasons with different concepts, and responds to problem solving dilemmas. During this section of the evaluation, particular personality or IQ tests may be administered such as the Wechsler IQ test or Woodcock-Johnson test.
3. Reasoning and processing functioning: Additional tests may be administered to complete the child’s learning profile and asses the child’s memory, attention, and communication processing abilities. 
    
4. Academic and scholastic assessment: Interactive tests focused on reading, writing, arithmetic, and other general scholastic skills will be evaluated to determine specific strengths and weakness in different areas of educational learning. Potential causes will also be tested and evaluated to determine the exact origin of a struggle or strength. 
    
5. Personality and emotional reasoning: This portion of the evaluation will primarily focus on social and emotional functioning to determine the child’s relational learning style and unique behavioral patterns. 

Benefits of Psycho-Educational Testing

There are many benefits of Psycho-Educational Testing, however the primary purpose of Psycho-Educational Testing is to identify where exactly a child needs specific supportive care, especially in learning environments, and to align the child’s collective support system on how the child’s potential and needs are best nurtured. Remember: the goal of Psycho-Educational Testing is to enhance the possibility for a child’s ultimate potential to be realized. 

Other benefits of Psycho-Educational Testing include:

• Parents, teachers, and child commonly report feeling less frustrated now that the child’s learning style is better understood. 
• Causes of specific learning struggles or difficulties are discovered, diagnosed, and remedied or supported. 
• Necessary learning accommodations can be secured if deemed beneficial.

Psycho-Educational Testing vs Psychological Evaluations 

Psycho-Educational Testing seeks information from a learning and educational perspective, whereas a Psychological Evaluation is a bit more medical and examines overall psychological, emotional, behavioral, and relational functioning. 

Learn more about Psychological Evaluation Testing.

Psycho-Educational Testing vs Scholastic Assessments

Scholastic Assessments deal specifically with an academic subject that involves verbal and quantitative reasoning skills. Psycho-Educational Testing is often more comprehensive than a school administered scholastic assessment, which typically only is undergone in the event of clear academic concerns based on the school’s perception, not the parents. Additionally, Scholastic Assessments typically lack a psychological examination and do not evaluation emotional, relational, or behavioral challenges.

Does my child need Psycho-Educational Testing?

Psycho-Educational Evaluations are ideally suited for children who either demonstrate potential gifted psycho-educational levels of understanding or children who are having trouble in school or demonstrating developmental struggles. However, the information collected from a psychoeducational evaluation is highly informative and helpful for every student and child, regardless of circumstances. 

If you have reason to believe that school accommodations would benefit your child, if you suspect your child may have a learning disorder or disability, or if your child demonstrate obvious intelligence yet struggles to achieve standardized forms of academic success, then a psycho-educational test may be extremely helpful. The detailed insight the test will reveal about the unique way a child is wired is very empowering and helpful for both the child and their entire support system.

Who provides Psycho-educational Testing?

Psycho-Educational Tests are typically administered by a registered or licensed school psychologist who has graduate-level educational training in developmental, educational, or school psychology. The examiner may be recommended by the school or healthcare provider or in some cases, may be provided through an inhouse psychologist at participating private and public schools. 

How much does Psycho-Educational Testing cost?

The cost for psycho-educational testing varies greatly, but most evaluations costs around $2,000 to $5,000. The actual examination typically takes about a week, but it is not uncommon for the process to last several weeks or months depending on the tests and desired observations needed. If the point of the evaluation is to diagnose a psychological disorder such as anxiety, depression, or ADHD, then health insurance may cover part of the cost, however if the concern is primarily educational or learning related, then coverage is unlikely. 

Find a Psycho-Educational Testing Clinician

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