How Do I Know If A CSS Assessment Is Appropriate for My Child?

 

As children grow and develop, they encounter many different types of learning opportunities. It would be unrealistic to expect all students to excel at everything in school all the time. Sooner or later, most children face learning situations for which their brains simply aren’t wired. CSS assessments help students, parents and teachers understand and manage specific breakdowns in learning by linking how a student learns best with a plan for success.

 

A CSS assessment is individually tailored to determine a student’s learning profile of neurodevelopmental strengths and weaknesses.  Neurodevelopmental functions are the basic brain processes that affect learning: attention, memory, language, spatial ordering, sequencing, higher order thinking, social thinking, and neuromotor skills. Understanding a neurodevelopmental learning profile helps explain why a student may be struggling in school and where breakdowns may be occurring.

 

You may want to consider a CSS assessment if any of the following apply to your child:

 

v    is a student in second grade - college

v    has been experiencing learning difficulties for more than one school year

v    does not qualify for special education services, but is struggling in his/her classroom setting

v    has a hard time following directions

v    does not seem to memorize information easily (e.g., math facts, spelling words)

v    finds it difficult to express his/her ideas in writing

v    can read the words in a textbook, but can’t summarize what (s)he read

v    works too quickly or too slowly on certain types of tasks

v    struggles to complete homework within the given time-frame

v    does not always know what is important to study for a test

v    has difficulty staying focused or is easily distracted

v    has difficulty starting work, staying on task or finishing assignments

PLEASE NOTE:

A CSS assessment focuses primarily on learning challenges within the general classroom and therefore is not suitable for children with more complex needs. For example, CSS does not address significant emotional or behavioral conditions. Children with significantly delayed cognitive functioning would benefit from specialized assessments related to their needs.

CSS does not provide IQ testing or standardized achievement testing. CSS does not use labels (e.g., “learning disability”, “ADHD”) in our reports. Consequently, CSS assessments are not designed to determine eligibility for special education services.

If a CSS assessment is not appropriate for your child, please click here to find out information about additional resources.