Ecological Assessment & Types of Tests Used in Special Education

A. Ecological Assessment-What is it?

An ecological assessment is one type of assessment that is used to help students that have
special needs.

An ecological assessment is a comprehensive process in which data is collected about how a

child functions in different environments.

Sometimes students eligible for special education perform or behave well in some
environments, but have difficulty in others.

For example:

 Johnny has a school phobia. He is fine at home, but becomes anxious and scared when he
has to go to school.
 Suzie is normally calm in the classroom, but becomes upset in the cafeteria.
 Jack is typically well behaved during math and science, but behaves inappropriately during
language and art.

B. Information used for an ecological assessment is gathered from:

1. Observations by a specialist
2. Student records
3. Interviews with the child, parents and teachers

C. The information collected in an ecological setting may include information about:

 the physical environment
 behavior patterns
 activity patterns
 interactions between the authority figure and child
 interactions between children
 expectations of the child by parents, teachers and peers.

D. How is this information used?

The data that is collected from an ecological assessment can help determine why a child behaves
or functions differently in different settings and can then be used to determine the appropriate
accommodations.

E. Possible reasons for different behavior:

 Time of day
 Varying adult expectations
 Over-stimulation, etc
F. Goal Setting
 Ecological assessment examines the skills necessary for the child to be successful in a specific
environment. Appropriate goals for the child are determined based on the analysis of the skills
the child displays and does not display during observations. Using ecological assessment,
meaningful goals are set to teach the necessary communication, social, behavioral, cognitive
skills, or daily living skills the student needs to maximize performance.

G. Types of Tests Used in Special Education:

 Developmental Assessments

A developmental assessment is a structured evaluation of a child's development in all

domains-large and fine motor, cognitive, social-emotional, self-help skills and language.
These assessments identify the strengths and weaknesses of the child and help to
identify possible developmental delays.

 Screening tests

Screening tests are used to identify children who may be below the norm in one or more
developmental areas. These tests are relatively quick and simple. They identify a
"potential problem" so that a more in depth assessment can be conducted. Examples of
screening tests are:

 Pen and paper tests

 Rating scales
 Checklists
 Observations

 Individual Intelligence Tests

Intelligence tests are used when an individual is being considered for special education
because it is a general indicator of one's ability to learn academic skills in addition to
problem solving skills, decision making, abstract reasoning and more. THe outcomes of
these tests help determine is an individual's learning struggles comes from lack of
intellectual capacity or other factros such as emotional disturbance or a specific learning
disability.

Source:

https://prezi.com/efhabjsoyh1p/ecological-assessment/