Assessments
What’s an Assessment
and which type should we pursue?
QWERTY offers both an online cognitive assessment (MindPrint) as well as extensive psychoeducational/neuropsychological evaluations, the type used to formally diagnose a student with a learning disability, or more appropriately, a learning difference, as well as ADHD.
An assessment is a tool for discovery and helps provide a better picture of a student’s processing strengths and weaknesses, as well as the academic impact of their unique cognitive profile. When deciding between which one to choose for your child, it’s best to speak directly with a learning specialist or an educational psychologist on our staff. They can help you consider several factors related to the appropriate choice.
Learning Differences and ADHD Testing
Learning Differences and ADHD Testing through psychoeducational/neuropsychological evaluations provides a holistic view of how a student processes information, learns, and interacts with the world.
One benefit of psychoeducational/neuropsychological evaluations that’s significant in the student’s life is that they provide us with enough of the right measures to officially diagnose a condition or learning difference that meets clinical criteria in DSM-5 and provides recommendations under federal FAPE (Free and Appropriate Public Education) regulations that might apply. The diagnosis can indicate a child’s needs at that point in their life, and if that student would benefit from specific accommodations, modifications, and/or interventions through additional services the school provides, such as 504 plans, IEPs, SECs, etc.
In working with the student, their guardian, and school team, the evaluation will look at all areas of suspected disability as they relate to their academic success. Within the evaluation, the evaluator will first identify how a student processes information by assessing their broad cognitive processing abilities (i.e., visual processing, auditory processing, working memory, long-term retrieval, comprehension knowledge, fluid reasoning, and processing speed). The evaluation will dive deeper, assessing the narrow processing abilities within these broad areas, explaining the direct correlation to how the narrow ability impacts the student’s academics in the areas of reading, writing, math, listening comprehension, and oral expression.
In addition to cognitive testing, the evaluation utilizes neuropsychological tools to assess for attention, executive functioning, and cognitive fluency in a variety of ways (i.e., direct testing, observations, and feedback across settings).
A student’s mental health, social skills, behavior, and overall developmental level are also evaluated and taken into consideration throughout the evaluation.
MindPrint Online Cognitive Assessment
A MindPrint is called for when a student seems to be experiencing difficulties with school/academics in some way, but has never had testing that would inform IF and WHAT cognitive process can explain the WHY of the difficulties. It’s a cognitive screener only, and does not include discrete measures of auditory processing or emotional factors that might impede learning. MindPrint is a one-hour-long assessment that functions a bit like a compass, pointing us in the right direction regarding why the student might be floundering in a certain setting, subject, or type of task.
MindPrint results indicate the student’s unique patterns of cognitive strength and challenge in how they learn. This can serve to inform us as we design a customized set of instructional and study strategies that best match your child and can be used to inform their teachers as well.
MindPrint results could also point to some neurodivergence that might underlie a learning disability without providing a formal diagnosis, like a full psychoeducational/neuropsychological evaluation could. A MindPrint can help parents make decisions about whether or not to do a full psychoeducational/neuropsychological evaluation and help the professional doing that evaluation to make targeted choices regarding which instruments to use. QWERTY uses MindPrint as an optional “front end” to its Spotlight Tutoring Service, and in some cases, as a means of efficiently zeroing in on specific areas in our Executive Functions Coaching Service.
Areas we serve
We regularly work with students living in:
Empowering you to help your child
Both forms of assessment can offer parents information that is useful in understanding their children and empower a child’s education team to make informed recommendations for accommodations and modifications at school, as well as choosing the study strategies to prioritize.
That information, even if it’s not what was hoped for or expected, can go a long way to providing much-needed reassurance and pathways to move forward. Also, it can bring a sense of competence to parents, as they help their children be happier, healthier, and more successful.
Testimonials
Biggest problem I had with my daughter was in math. After going to Qwerty, their tutoring greatly improved my daughter’s math grades.
My daughter had a great experience at QWERTY over several years. She was evaluated and initially, her written expression skills were the focus. She had a tendency to write very little, even though she could tell you a great deal about her subject. At QWER
We were very impressed with QWERTY’s services. Our 3rd grade daughter worked with Natalie for over a year, with great results in math, reading and writing. The sessions were always fun and engaging, and she looked forward to them as a highlight of her week.
With the help of QWERTY, my daughter’s performance in AP Stats soared — both in class and on the AP exam. It was very empowering for a kid who never thought she was good at math.
Qwerty provided professional and reliable tutoring in a friendly atmosphere. Our son benefited from the expertise of a knowledgeable tutor for three years of high school. Consistent work with an excellent role model was very helpful. The interaction was extremely positive.”
Our daughter had very low self confidence about her math abilities before seeing Betty Willdorff at QWERTY. Since starting her tutoring sessions, my daughter’s math abilities have gone up noticeably, and doing homework is no longer such a chore. She actually looks forward to her homework sessions with Betty!
Michael was the right fit for tutoring my two high school children in math because he explained and taught the material well and interacted with them on a personal level. They enjoyed working with him and always looked forward to their sessions. I would definitely recommend QWERTY.
QWERTY Education Services in Menlo Park provided academic support and instruction during a very transitional time for my daughter. They provide superior customized tutoring in all subjects through a positive and confidence building environment. I highly recommend QWERTY.
Biggest problem I had with my daughter was in math. After going to QWERTY, their tutoring greatly improved my daughter’s math grades.
We were very impressed with QWERTY’s services. Our 3rd grade daughter worked with QWERTY for over a year, with great results in math, reading and writing. The sessions were always fun and engaging, and she looked forward to them as a highlight of her week.
We had a good experience with QWERTY. Our now 11 year old daughter needed help with her executive functions and the coach helped her get her backpack and thoughts and study methods organized. She feels much more responsible to finish her homework and the coach also helped with tutoring in various subjects including prepping for projects and tests. Thank you, QWERTY.
My daughter had a great experience at QWERTY over several years. She was evaluated and initially, her written expression skills were the focus. She had a tendency to write very little, even though she could tell you a great deal about her subject.
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