IQ Testing

The school will do a Full Individual and Initial Evaluation or FIE. The FIE gathers information about your child's learning needs and challenges. The evaluation will also assess their strengths and interests. 

The FIE determines if your child has a disability. It will determine what special education or related services they made need. This will help with their education.

Some areas included in the FIE assessments include: 

• Academic achievement 
• Adaptive behavior
• Autism screening 
• Cognitive function
• Emotional and behavioral functioning
• Functional analysis
• Motor ability 
• Sensory processing
• Social connections and relationships
• Speech-language-communication
• Transition to adulthood and vocational interest

Within each of these areas are different evaluations. Some are formal. Some are informal. Some are forms teachers or parents fill out. 

Parents or caregivers must sign consent for the FIE. The consent allows the school to test in all areas they think are necessary. You can ask for the name of each of the assessment tools. You can consent to certain areas or tests and deny others. 

For instance, I, personally, am firm on cognition assessments. For this area, kids usually take a formal intelligence test. I disagree with this. Other cognition tests are more appropriate. These other tests give a much better picture of my child. I do not think an IQ test for my child is valid or important.

What does a formal IQ score tell a parent about their child’s needs? Not much. It doesn't matter if your child has an IQ of under 70 or above 70. This number doesn’t tell anyone how or what your child needs. It doesn’t tell anyone how or what to teach them. It doesn’t tell anyone how or what support they might need. And it doesn’t tell anyone what your child is capable of doing. 

When people see an IQ score, they often make assumptions. They assume what your child can and can’t do. Expectations get set. Your child’s true potential might go unnoticed. 

The cognitive process is important. It is necessary to understand it, but there are more meaningful tests besides an intelligence test.

It is important to understand the special education process. Take time to learn about the different types of assessments. Give consent in the areas or type of evaluation that are important and necessary to you. You are an important part of the special education process—your voice matters. The decisions you make impact the outcome for your child. 

The Education and Schools pages provide valuable information regarding special education.