Amy Ballantyne (On 05 Apr 97) was overheard expounding to John Pummill
 AB> She was only give partial tests by the school psychologist because he
 AB> went through her file and found several psych-evals that he considered
 AB> to be excellent.  
 Then, IMNSHO, he has nothing current to base any opinion on.  It
 matters not a smidgen how "excellent" those previous evals may have
 been.  That was then, this is now.
 AB> I have a few of them that he gave me that were copies of stuff in
 AB> her files.
 I have read, literally, hundreds of psych evals.  One of the things
 that always leaps out is how those on the same child read almost
 exactly the same from year to year regardless of who signed the thing.
 Sure, the sequence of phrasing is moved around a bit, but very seldom
 is any new information provided.  Get copies of  everything in her
 cumulative file (you are entitled to them - altho may have to pay a
 copy fee).  Read all those psych reports and draw your own
 conclusions.
 AB> "She was given the Stanford Binet Intelligence Test-4th edition. . ."
 AB> She "Lisa received a composite score of 80, which is similar to an IQ
 AB> score of 80. There was no significant test scatter, except for a low
 AB> bead memory score that may indicate poor visual sequential memory for
 AB> nonverbal information.
 Any IQ test measures only how much the individual being tested has
 learned up to that point in time.  An (I)ntelligence (Q)uotient is a
 reasonably good predictor of future success.  That's all it is.  No
 person who purports to be an educator should be making
 decisions/judgments based only on an IQ score.
 AB> On the Woodcock-Johnson Tests of Achievement-Revised, . . .
 A good test when properly administered..
 AB> "A Rorschach Inkblot test administered as part of the psychological
 AB> evaluation indicated that Lisa is less mature than her peers, has a
 AB> limited capacity for control and has difficulty modulating her
 AB> emotional discharges.
 Psycho babble ... totally subjective
 AB> A Sentence Completion was administered and the
 AB> answers were extremely brief and concrete demonstrating little insight
 AB> into personal or family problems."
 again totally subjective and dependent on the interpretation of the
 examiner
 AB> This particular test was given to Lisa when she was an inpatient at
 AB> the Utah State Hospital.  The Utah State Hospital is the state's psych
 AB> hospital.
 duh...and this psychologist probably places a LOT of value on that
 one...  ummmpph
 AB> All tests indicate that Lisa is on or above grade level in her school
 AB> subjects.  Her biggest problem is controlling her emotions.
 AB> Any thoughts anyone?
 Yes... get a through and complete work up done by someone not
 associated with the school system.  You are much more likely to get an
 accurate and _unbiased_ evaluation...
 You have the right to obtain an Independent Educational Evaluation
 (IEE) of your child conducted by a qualified examiner who is not
 employed by the school system responsible for your child's education.
 You have the right to this IEE at public expense if you disagree with
 the eval obtained by the school system.  Public expense means that
 the school system either pays for the full cost of the eval or
 ensures that the eval is otherwise provided at no cost to you.
 HOWEVER, (there's _always_ that) the school system has the right to
 initiate a due process hearing to show that its eval is appropriate.
 If the final decision is that the school system's eval is appropriate
 you still have the right to an IEE but not at public expense.
 Boil that down to do you believe she is receiving an education
 "appropriate" to her needs at this point in time?  If the answer is
 no for what ever reason - start kicking up a fuss..
 Bob
... Sure I'm paranoid. The question is am I paranoid enough?
--- PPoint 2.03
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