When is testing scheduled?
It’s important that testing is scheduled for a time your child is able to perform well. We want to capture your child’s cognitive functioning at a time when your child is not tired from already meeting the demands of his or her day, and also not so early that the morning feels rushed and hectic. I encourage parents to keep the time prior to our sessions as relaxed and pleasant as possible. Having a good breakfast with some protein and avoiding time in front of a screen (TV, I-Pad, phone apps, etc) also helps the brain to be ready to perform at a peak level.
What does testing involve?
There are two primary types of assessment:
A school admission assessment is designed to provide information to schools for their admissions decisions. It will include:
Administration, and scoring of tests specifically requested by the school/s to which your child is applying.
A report of the testing results, which may be delivered in writing only, or which may also involve a feedback session, depending on your desires and the school to which you are applying.
A comprehensive learning assessment is designed to provide information to parents and, when applicable, the child’s school, about the child’s learning styles, strengths and weaknesses. It provides recommendations about appropriate learning strategies and environments. A comprehensive learning assessment has four core pieces:
An initial meeting of about an hour between parent/s and myself to help me understand your goals for testing and to learn background information about your child.
Information gathered from your child's school: Communication with your child's teacher/s and relevant learning specialists or tutors and questionnaires completed by teachers provide more information about your child's current strengths and challenges at school. For some elementary school students, an observational visit that occurs prior to the student's appointments with me is a valuable component of the assessment process.
The process of testing itself, which might involve anywhere from 1-3 sessions (each lasting 60-180 minutes) with your child, depending on the number of testing instruments used and the age of your child.
A feedback session of about 90 minutes between parent/s and myself to help you understand the results of testing. If your child is an appropriate age, we might schedule a feedback session for your child to hear about testing results and recommendations. At your final feedback session, you will receive a written report of my findings, including suggestions for you, your child, and school personnel.
What is the testing experience itself like?
Children and students typically find the testing process to be interesting and stimulating. I will work to build rapport with your child and will remain sensitive to how mentally fatiguing the testing process is for your child. Having your child bring a nourishing snack and water to our appointment/s will help your child’s energy level remain constant. Each testing session will typically last between 60-180 minutes, depending on the age of the child and what we are doing.
We will know at the start of each session how long we anticipate the session to last, however, based on your child’s energy level, ability to focus, and engagement in the process, I may choose to add in time to take additional breaks, which could lengthen our session slightly. I may also choose to end a little sooner than anticipated if I feel your child has reached a limit of fatigue that will no longer allow for strong testing. Because of this, I ask that parents remain in the waiting room or in close proximity, able to return to the office within 15 minutes. I encourage parents to bring a book and enjoy a little quiet time while their child is working. My office is also conveniently equipped with WiFi for guest use.
For a full learning assessment, parents usually report that the amount of information gathered before testing begins is very comprehensive. This helps paint a full picture of who your child is and can help alert me to any special circumstances that I need to be aware of. Most parents are glad to know more about their child’s learning strengths and challenges and find the suggestions offered to be helpful and practical.
What should I tell my child before testing?
Depending on the age of your child, you might want to say something along these lines, adjusting for your own personality types and your child’s age… “You know, I would like to know more about how your brain works. It seems very interesting to me. Everyone’s brain is very special, and I’d like to know more about yours. I want to introduce you to someone named Dr. Cowperthwaite (or Dr. Wendy). She is not a doctor like the doctor you see for your check up. Instead, she is someone who has spent a lot of time learning about the way children learn and how their brains work. She has many different ways of learning about people’s brains and how people learn. Some of what you will do with her will be very easy, some of what you do with her will be very puzzling for your brain, and other things will seem just right. I think you will be interested in most of the things you do with Dr. Wendy.”
You can also encourage your child, as I will, to give their best guess anytime they aren’t sure of something. Sometimes parents will tell their child that I will be giving a test or playing games with them. Both of these descriptions can be a little problematic. The word “test” can be laden for many people. In my work, all responses, those which are “correct” and those which are “not correct,” are incredibly important and useful parts of the evaluative process. Your child is also likely to perform to her or his best when pressure is reduced as much as possible. The term “games” can be tricky if your child believes we’ll be playing a familiar game, or that your child will have a hand in directing our time. You might instead tell your child to expect we will complete a group of activities that helps show their unique way of learning. Many of the activities are designed to be very unique. Even though I am interested in learning, many of the activities do not resemble school, or require reading, writing, or math.
How can I prepare my child for testing?
You do not need to review any facts or school concepts with your child prior to testing. You can encourage your child to try his or her best and to offer a guess if they aren’t sure of an answer. There are no penalties for a wrong or guessed answer. Much of what your child and I will do together will not look like what’s done in school at all. So, a relaxed attitude towards the assessment process and a willingness to “make a best guess” are really the best helps in preparing for testing.
I am occasionally asked if parents should provide any further preparation than what is described above. Although there are some websites or products that offer sample test questions or problems, I want you to understand why I (and my colleagues) discourage you from using these materials. The instruments used in learning assessments are scored using a normative sample group without test preparation. These instruments are deliberately designed to provide very novel activities. They differ greatly from large-scale tests administered in a group environment, such as the SAT or ACT. Providing test preparation reduces the intended novelty of the assessment, correspondingly reducing the confidence that scores earned reflect the intended conditions and making these results challenging to interpret. Further, some students, having undergone test preparation, may feel less interested and motivated by tasks they would have otherwise experienced as more novel and engaging, actually diminishing their performance. It's worth considering that test prep sites and products are designed to sell you services or materials; they are not necessarily aligned with what is in your child's best interests. Please reach out to me if you have concerns about why your child may need preparation for our work together.