Psychological Testing for Children Part 1: Information About Who Conducts Them and Types of Assessments

Psychological testing (also called psychological assessment, sometimes psychological evaluation) provides valuable information to better understand and support a child's learning needs as well as to make appropriate treatment recommendations and referrals. Providers, schools, or parents seek testing in order to access appropriate interventions and services, monitor progress, seek diagnostic clarification, and sometimes as part of private school admissions. Depending on the type of testing, assessments may include: in-person standardized assessments (e.g., game-like or school-like puzzles and activities that are validated and normed for your child), observations, clinical interviews, parent and teacher questionnaires, record reviews, and other structured and unstructured components. All of the information is synthesized and integrated to genreate a psychological report, which is usually reviewed with you in a feedback appointment. Parents often share reports with schools and other providers. They are sometimes referred back to many years later to compare progress.

When testing is needed for reasons other than admissions testing, it is important that psychological assessments are comprehensive and tailored specifically for your child's needs. An assessment that is tailored to your child is vital to accurately understand them, write good recommendations, and maximize the report's utility. Assessments should include tests that are validated and normed for children similar to your child.

Who Should Conduct Psychological Assessments

• Licensed Clinical Psychologists: Trained professionals who specialize in psychology who provide therapy and comprehensive diagnostic psychological assessment. They usually work in private practice or community settings and provide comprehensive recommendations that help you access appropriate services. Clinical Psychologists have doctoral level education (e.g., Psy.D. or Ph.D. in Clincial Psychology) and specialize in child psychology if they are conducting assessments with children. Clinical psychologists can provide assessments and therapy, assuming they have expertise in both, and often work in private practice or community settings.

• Neuropsychologists: Experts in the relationship between brain function, emotions, and behavior whose evaluations are called neuropsychological assessments. They often focus on brain injuries and neurological conditions, many times work in hospitals and specialized settings. Neuropsychologists can provide diagnosis and recommendations and sometimes provide cognitive rehabilitation and cognitive behavioral therapy specialized for populations they focus working with.

• Licensed School Psychologists: Trained professionals who specialize in academics, learning, and behaviors in the school setting. They usually work in schools and can provide comprehensive recommendations focused on service recommendations in the academic setting. School Psychologits have a doctoral level or masters level education (e.g., M.S., M.A., or Ph.D. in School Psychology). Most states require a Specialist in Education (Ed.S.) or Certificate of Advanced Graduate Studies (CAGS) certification in addition to the masters degree. Licensed School Psychologists often focus on assessment with school-age populations and most often provide these assessments in school settings.

• Depending on State and Licensing Board Regulations as well as a mental health provider's training, evaluations limited in scope can be conducted by other professionals however these are not psychological assessments.

Psychological Assessments Can Target Many Skills and Are Sometimes Referred to as One of the Following Types of Assessments

• Cognitive: Evaluates intellectual capabilities and cognitive functioning using standardized measures.

• Private School Admissions: Cognitive testing required as part of a private school's admission process.

• Behavioral: Observations and integration of behaviors reported by parents and teachers.

• Developmental: Assesses a child’s developmental milestone progress and possible areas of delay.

• Social-Emotional: Evaluates mood, anxiety, and other social-emotional strengths and challenges.

• Educational: Identifies learning strengths and challenges and current academic achievement functionning.

• Comprehensive: Most psychological assessments are comprehesive. These are in-depth and usually include a review of previous history, interviews, observations, standardized testing, and examination of multiple areas of functioning such as cogntive, academic, and social-emotional. This assesses your child in a more holistic way and leads to more accurate diagnoses and recommendations.

• Tailored Assessments:Most psychological assessments are tailored for your child's individual needs (as opposed to using the same assessment battery with all). This can range from very brief testing for private school admission to comprehensive multi-day testing to assess complex social-emotional and learning needs.