In accordance with IDEA, students with disabilities must be assessed by individuals who are knowledgeable about the disability (34 CFR §300.532). In most instances, a credentialed TVI will be the individual on the assessment team or the IEP team who is most knowledgeable about the impact of a visual impairment on development and learning. The TVI, then, should serve as a resource to all other members of the assessment team. In this capacity, the TVI can assist other specialists as they prepare for testing, conduct assessments, and interpret assessment results (Hazekamp & Huebner, 1989).

Because of the low prevalence of students with visual impairments, many examiners do not have the opportunity to practice their skills with the specialized instruments that may be required to test this group of students. Using braille and large-print versions of even a familiar test can be cumbersome and unwieldy. To ensure that the testing session goes smoothly, the examiner should study the test protocol carefully, practice the test’s administration, and review the scoring procedures.

Examiners need to be aware that fatigue often is a factor when testing blind students or students with low vision (Bradley-Johnson, 1994). Tasks that require visual attention and concentration can be expected to induce fatigue. It will be necessary for the examiner to be alert to each student’s indication of stress related to visual fatigue and to plan for numerous breaks and frequent changes of tasks.

Thorough preparation of the examiner also involves learning as much information as possible about the student to be tested. Medical and educational records, including the results of previous assessments, will need to be reviewed. Current neurological information is very important when a student is experiencing frequent seizures. A recent low-vision evaluation assists examiners to understand the student’s visual functioning. For the student who is suspected of having a hearing loss or a communication impairment, an audiological evaluation must be completed early in the assessment process.

Consultation with other specialists who may be assessing the student will provide additional valuable advice that will lead to maximum student performance during testing. Physical therapists can advise regarding the best positions in which the student should perform specific tasks. Communication specialists can indicate the communicative behaviors of nonverbal students. TVIs can help other team members recognize visual attention in a student who uses eccentric viewing techniques. School psychologists can provide insight on the possible emotional state of the student. Not surprising, teams whose members plan together and meet frequently, either formally or informally, throughout the period of the assessment often obtain the most useful information for planning students’ programs.

The Level of Rapport

Establishing rapport is the psychological preparation of test takers so that their interest in the test is aroused and their cooperation and appropriate responses are ensured (McLoughlin & Lewis, 1994). In general, examiners establish rapport through an unhurried introduction, the engagement of the student in conversation, a clear explanation of the purpose of testing, an exact description of the test activities, and encouragement of student questions (McLoughlin & Lewis, 1994). For many students with visual impairments, however, these activities are insufficient for establishing test rapport.

Ideally, the unfamiliar examiner will arrange to be introduced to the student prior to the test session by someone whom the student knows and trusts, such as a teacher or a parent. Because the student with a severe visual impairment cannot make spontaneous visual decisions regarding the “acceptability” of a stranger, it is best to establish a level of familiarity before testing begins. The examiner can engage the student in conversation at the time of the first introduction and continue with a familiar topic at a second meeting. Bradley-Johnson (1994) noted that several pretesting sessions may be required before communication becomes easy for either the examiner or the student.

Rapport is enhanced significantly by comfort, confidence, and trust (Strichart & Lazarus, 1986). Examiners who previously have not tested individuals with visual impairments will need to become informed about ways to increase the student’s level of confidence in them, such as

• Understanding that students who are blind interpret common visual words such as “look” and “see” to mean “examine” and that it is not necessary to avoid using these words
  
  
• Knowing how to walk with a student using correct sighted guide techniques
  
  
• Permitting the curious student to explore the testing area, either by walking around it to see its details more clearly or by tactually examining its contents
  
  
• Asking the student’s permission to guide his or her hands through a task
  
  
• Identifying others in the testing area (including those who enter or leave)
  
  
• Describing to the student one’s own activities, such as getting out or putting away materials, writing a note, resetting a stopwatch, and so forth
  
  
• Allowing students to explore independently any testing materials prior to the test
  
  
• Encouraging — but not forcing — the student to use adapted materials or low-vision aids

Some students, usually those with little or no usable vision and often with additional disabilities such as neurological impairments, adapt very slowly to new environments as well as to new people. To elicit the student’s best performance, a period of familiarization may be helpful. Introducing the student to the testing environment several days prior to the actual assessment often is worthwhile. Permitting the student to explore the testing environment tactually also can facilitate the student’s ability to relax.


References

Bradley-Johnson, S. (1994). Psychoeducational assessment of visually impaired and blind students: Infancy through high school (2nd ed.). Austin, TX: PRO-ED.

Hazekamp, J., & Huebner, K.M. (1989). Program planning and evaluation for blind and visually impaired students: National guidelines for educational excellence. New York: American Foundation for the Blind.

Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) of 1990, PL 101-476, 20 U.S.C. §§ 1400 et seq.

McLoughlin, J.A., & Lewis, R.B. (1994). Assessing special students (4th ed.). New York: Merrill.

Strichart, S.S., & Lazarus, P.J. (1986). Low-incidence assessment: Influences and issues. In S.S. Strichart & P.J. Lazarus (Eds.), Psychoeducational evaluation of children and adolescents with low-incidence handicaps (pp. 1–15). Orlando, FL: Grune & Stratton.