What's in Your Assessment Toolbox?
(Last Updated 3/21/2025)
The Latest and Greatest Assessment Tools for FVA/LMA, ECC, Psychoeducational, and Speech and Language Evaluations
Whether you are conducting remote, in-person, or hybrid evaluations, there are many assessment tools to consider. This document includes some of the newest assessments now available along with the tried and true. We will discuss specific tools and strategies for FVA/LMA, ECC, psychoeducational, and speech and language evaluations. These assessments target the variety of students we serve including students with visual impairments, multiple disabilities, autism, CVI, and deafblind.
California School for the Blind Assessment Team
Stephanie Herlich, MA, TSVI/O&M
(sherlich@csb-cde.ca.gov)
Shelby Zimmerman, MA, TSVI/COMS
(szimmerman@csb-cde.ca.gov)
May Nguyen, MS, LEP, NCSP
(mnguyen@csb-cde.ca.gov)
Rebecka Henry, MS, CCC-SLP
(rhenry@csb-cde.ca.gov)
Assessment Topics
Functional Vision /Learning Media
Expanded Core Curriculum
Psychoeducational
Speech and Language
Functional Vision/Learning Media Assessments
Tips to Remember
- Collaborative Evaluations: TVI and Evaluation Staff Working Together (Marnee Loftin)
- How does my student use his/her vision in the classroom, community, and at home?
- How does my student’s visual impairment affect his/her learning, behavior, independence, and social skills
- To be done after ophthalmologist and/or optometrist and before other assessments to ensure appropriate accommodations are implemented
- Assess in a variety of environments- school, community, outside, home, recess, cafeteria, etc.
- Interviews & Observations Forms
- FVLMA templates including protocol, testing ideas, typical & atypical responses, examples of problems, & implications
- FVLMA Decision-making Guide Summary
- Idea: use materials from other APH Kit items
- Templates for FVLMA and report writing
- Interview forms
- Kit ideas and organization
- Eye Conditions with educational considerations
- Essential Tools Decision-making Guides (pp. 229-237)
FVA Templates (CA State Guidelines)
Reading Inventory
- Informal reading inventory
- 10th edition used to be available from APH in braille and large print. Currently working on 12th edition.
- Johns BRI Data Template
Note: TSVIs assess reading rates & comprehension for the LMA. Most TSVIs are not trained to test using standardized assessments. Psychologists and RSP/SDC teachers assess reading for present levels of functioning in comparison to others of the same age or grade and possible learning disabilities. TSVIs may need to explain to other IEP team members this difference and may choose to work with other specialists for reading assessments.
- Requires formal standardized test training
- Contains two equivalent forms that can be used to compare two different reading media (large print, braille, auditory)
CVI
- Used to help determine if a student should be referred due to suspicion of CVI
- 3 different questionnaires: students with motor disabilities who are non-ambulatory, ages 2-6, and ages 6-12
- iPad app that provides accessible activities created to align with the characteristics of CVI
- Uses the camera inside of the iPad to detect whether or not the child is looking at or away from the activity
- Tracks data that can be used to create IEP goals and help IEP team members understand what is providing the best visual stimulation for the student
- Cost per student per year
- CVI Self-Paced Online Course - A self-paced course using Google Classroom to help begin or refresh your CVI knowledge. Topics include What is CVI, Causes of CVI, Characteristics, Screening Tools, Assessment Overview, Interviews, CVI Range, Assessment Kit, Reports, and Suggestions for Further Learning.
Class code: 265c263
- CVI Protocol (Perkins) A comprehensive, holistic assessment tool that looks at 16 visual behaviors.
Expanded Core Curriculum Assessments
Comprehensive ECC Assessments
- 10 page checklist revised in 2016
- TSVI indicates whether direct instruction or consultation/collaboration is recommended based on student’s needs
- 1 page checklist for each of the following areas: self-advocacy/self-determination, technology, O&M, academics, executive functioning, independent living, residential living, vocational, and social/emotional skills
- Must sign-up to download an individual copy
- 5 page checklist with space for justification
- ECC Assessment Protocol summary sheet
- ECC Action Plan sheet for developing IEP goals and instruction
- Each chapter authored by subject matter experts in the VI field
- For each ECC area:
- Details the assessment process
- Lists and/or provides assessment tools
- Compilation of ECC assessment resources
Early Learners
- Digital 7th edition now available
- Functional Scheme (Dr. Lilli Nielsen) - Designed meet the needs of children and adults with multiple special needs who are functioning at a developmental level under 48 months
Compensatory - Braille
Inventories & Checklists
- Queensland Braille Learning Progression and Assessment Tool (QDLP) (Queensland Department of Education) A data driven developmental guide utilizing a checklist of observable indicators with increasing sophistication in the use of braille to access literacy and enable self-reliance. The QDLP is divided into the following domains: Decoding & fluency, Reading mechanics, Layout & navigation, Writing, Writing mechanics & technology, Maths, Music, Tactile graphics, and Self-Reliance
- Braille Readiness Grid (Center for the Visually Impaired) Literacy readiness grid that uses observation and informal assessment to identify accomplished skills and target other skills for helping to determine braille readiness.
- Assessment of Braille Literacy Skills (Region 4 Educated Solutions) An ongoing assessment tool of braille literacy skills. The fourth edition is online and includes a digital literacy component and braille dots on checklists.
Informal Reading Passages
Curriculum Based Assessments
Orientation and Mobility
Tips to Remember
- Coordinate with TSVI to administer materials in the student’s primary learning medium and incorporate the use of assistive technology
- Consider how a student’s functional vision may vary in different lighting settings, weather, times of day, and day-to-day
- Focus assessment on making the student as independent as possible while maintaining safety
- Scaffold assessment tasks to determine what parts a student can do independently
Comprehensive O&M Assessments
- For students ages 3 to 21 who may also have additional impairments
- Features: instructions to the examiner, student information form, interview questions for the student, caretaker, and educator, score-sheets for functional mobility tasks, and evaluation pages
- TAPS, 3rd Edition, Supplemental Digital Download
- Uses a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet to track student progress over time
- Structured to require a minimal amount of paperwork and Excel knowledge
- Inventory Assessment Checklist
- Inventory Evaluation Shell (report template)
- Provides appropriate O&M goals for use in a student’s IEP
- Tables for tracking progress on each goal over time
Ancillary skills
CSB Skills Checklists - informal assessments for ancillary and community skills.
Early Learners
- For students 0-5 years old, including students with additional disabilities
- Assessment environments include home, daycare, school, and community
- Has a corresponding curriculum
Other
- For students 6-10 years old
- Basic spatial concepts such as front, back, left, right, etc. through different performance tasks
- May be used as a criterion-referenced instrument or as a norm-referenced test
- 9 readiness areas to determine if a client is prepared for the guide dog lifestyle
Assistive Technology Assessments
Templates and Checklists
Good reference to make sure you are asking the right questions
Decision Guides (teachingvisuallyimpaired.com)
Scope and Sequence
- Suggested grade for skill acquisition
- Includes PC with Windows, Microsoft Office, keyboarding, iPad, Excel, Powerpoint, Google Suite, internet, email
Keyboarding Assessments
- Built-in assessment
- Good introduction to JAWS
- Use across multiple platforms
- Virtual and in-person
- Student progress reports available in paid version
Publications
Access Technology for Blind and Low Vision Accessibility (Yue-Ting Siu & Ike Presley)
Other
- Five-part instructional video series
- AT assessment and training for individuals who are deaf-blind
- Includes assessment kit checklist, assessment template, and a sample report
Independent Living Skills
- 17 assessment areas
- Measure progress over time
- 6 levels of support
- Grade breakdown: K-4, 5-8, 9-12, and transition
- Four modules available in print and braille: Clothing Management, Food Management, Home Management, and Self Management
- Corresponding teacher’s guide and set of scoring forms for each module
- Can be customized for use with students who have multiple disabilities
CSB Questionnaire - In Spanish
7 skill areas (e.g., eating, food preparation, self-care, dressing, car, O&M, and recreation & leisure)
Career Education
- Designed for students ages 3-22 with sensory impairments and multiple disabilities
- Focuses on Career Education, but touches on all areas of the ECC.
- The focus of the Total Life Learning curriculum and assessment is on the development of life and career goals that enable students to maximize independence, self-determination, employability, and participation in the community. An essential component of a meaningful educational experience is a continuous focus on the future.
- Online transition assessment for secondary-aged youth with disabilities, their families, and professionals
- Provides a norm-based graphic profile, present level of performance statement, lists of strengths and needs, and suggested IEP annual transition goals
- Available online (option for audio), print in English and Spanish, and braille download
- 60 questions about level of interest in a variety of work activities
- Six work interest areas: realistic, investigative, artistic, social, enterprising, conventional
- Groups career examples by needed level of experience, education, and training
- Web-based version also available in Spanish
- Cards with statements about different aspects of work
- Student sorts cards based on how important the statement is in an ideal job
- Six work values: achievement, independence, recognition, relationships, support, working conditions
- For students 5th grade - adult (only appropriate for students with low vision)
- No reading or writing required
- Nonverbal measure of vocational interests
- Uses illustrations of individuals engaged in different occupations to measure vocational likes and dislikes
Social Interaction
Teaching Social Skills to Students with Visual Impairments: From Theory to Practice (APH) - Sharon Sacks and Karen Wolffe, editors
Chapter 9: Social Skills Assessment includes best practices, development by school-age, and checklists
Self-Determination
- For middle and high school students with additional disabilities
- Three areas: (a) choosing educational, vocational, and personal goals, (b) student’s involvement in their IEP meetings, and (c) student’s attainment of IEP goals, including developing a plan, implementing the plan, self-evaluation of plan progress, and adjusting any of the plan parts
- Measures two broad self-determination components: capacity (student's knowledge, abilities, and perceptions that enable them to be self-determined) and opportunity (student's chances to use their knowledge and abilities)
- Produces a profile of the student's level of self-determination, identifies areas of strength and areas needing improvement, and identifies specific educational goals that can be incorporated into the student's IEP.
- Student, parent, and teacher perspective scales and observation checklist
- Measures cognitive, behavioral, and affective traits to determine levels of self-determination
Sensory Efficiency
- For early learners
- 4 sensory areas
- Vision
- Hearing
- Touch / Kinesthetic / Vestibular
- Olfactory / Taste
- Summary of Sensory Preference / Recommendations for Motivating Objects
- For early learners and students who are struggling with tactile skills
- Observational checklist with evaluation and instructional resources corresponding to identified student needs
Comprehensive Assessment Report Templates
Other
- Provide ongoing consultation, training, and resources to families and educational teams.
- Responsible for CA deafblind count
- Birth through 21
- Individuals with combined vision and hearing loss with or without additional disabilities
- Tool for TSVIs and O&Ms when preparing and conducting assessments
- Covers FVA, LMA, & ECC
- Divided by age: birth to 3, 3-5, 5-22, multiple disabilities/deafblind
- Content Rubrics include key assessment components, tips, and resource links
- Quality Rubrics are used as an assessor self-measurement tool
- Determining service delivery
- Version 2.0 for VI was released in March 2024
- VISSIT: Visual Impairment Scale of Service Intensity of Texas
- Downloadable maps, graphs, diagrams, and images
- May be used to assess tactile map skills and concept development
Psychoeducational Assessments
Speech and Language Assessments
Speech & Language Assessment Considerations for Children with Visual Impairment (CSB)