Assessment Practices
The Assessment Exemplar Lead provides assessment tool models and practices as well as a deep knowledge of the assessments that are utilized for gathering information and determining special education eligibility for the preschool aged child. This Exemplar Lead exhibits exceptional practices for assessing the preschool child across disabilities, assessing preschool children who are English language learners, and in utilizing a range of assessment tools. The Assessment Exemplar Lead is also highly knowledgeable and may also utilize an innovative assessment model such as (but not limited to) a diagnostic assessment classroom.
Exemplar Leads for Assessment Practices
Piedmont Unified School District
Carrie Rodrigues is a School Psychologist and Preschool Program Specialist who is passionate about early childhood special education and inclusion. She currently works for both Piedmont Unified School District and for the CalECSE as a member of its leadership team. Ms. Rodrigues was selected as CalECSE Exemplar Lead for Assessment Practices in 2022. She is a Nationally Certified School Psychologist (NCSP), a Licensed Educational Psychologist (LEP) (CA License #3780), and is highly skilled at conducting comprehensive assessments in all areas of suspected disability to determine special education eligibility. Carrie holds particular expertise in Autism assessment, identification, and support and previously served as California Autism Professional Training and Information Network (CAPTAIN) cadre member and trained countless educators in evidenced-based practices for Autism. Carrie often guest lectures in graduate school programs of school psychology on Early Childhood topics and has given presentations to thousands around California on behalf of CalECSE on best practices in Early Childhood assessments. She is mother to two wonderful neurodivergent children and is an ardent supporter of the neurodiversity movement.
Assessment Practices Resources
Learn about the essential components for conducting comprehensive, legally defensible initial early childhood assessments for English Language Learners. When a student is multilingual, it is required that assessors determine if a student has a true disability versus a language difference. CalECSE has partnered with the Multilingual Students with Exceptional Needs (MUSE) to provide this training on how to administer cross-cultural non-discriminatory assessments, including using a variety of methods to collect data and the hierarchy of options when assessments in a child’s primary language are not available.
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Learn about:
Typical Speech & Language Development, Components of a Comprehensive Assessments, Gathering Parent Input, Play-Based Assessment and Collecting Language Samples, Observations: Clinical & Naturalistic, Oral Motor Examination, Speech Sound Production Assessment, Receptive & Expressive Language Assessments, Pragmatic Language and Social Skills, Voice & Fluency, Assessing English Language Learners, Ed Code & Educational Impact for Early Childhood
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This one page resource provides a quick, at-a-glance look at the difference between a medical diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder and an educational eligibility of autism under the California Education Code, 5 CCR § 3030(b).
Learn in-depth information on:
Why Comprehensive and Accurate Autism and Intellectual Disability assessments Are So Important, Autism Assessments Under Ed Code, Ed Code vs. Medical Diagnosis, Intellectual Disability Assessments Under Ed Code, Special Cases, African American Children, What to Do if a Child Cannot Participate in Cognitive Testing, & Delivering Hard News
Use this downloadable, fillable PDF during your assessments in order to capture play-based child observations!
School districts are often families' first points of contact when caregivers are concerned about their children’s development. Learn to conduct thorough and impactful assessments to determine eligibility under the category of Autism. A comprehensive evaluation and accurate identification can open doors to early intervention and provide important information for the family. This session will take an in-depth look at how Autism might manifest in early childhood and then examine how to best determine if a child meets Education Code criteria for special education under Autism. This session will explore the differences between medical diagnosis and educational eligibility and strategies for empathetically delivering difficult news. Target audience includes school psychologists, speech pathologists, early childhood special education teachers, occupational therapists, and special education administrators.
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If you are a practitioner or administrator relatively new to the Early Childhood field, this 2-hour session is for you!
This session will cover the essential components for conducting comprehensive, legally defensible initial preschool special education assessments. Topics that will be covered include: recommended assessment measures, play-based assessment, using multi-disciplinary teams, the importance of incorporating naturalistic observations and caregiver input, assessing English Language Learners, determining eligibility under the Education Code, and writing thorough reports with templates provided.
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Join Linsey Sandrew, veteran speech pathologist and CalECSE Exemplar Lead of Assessment Practices, for a no-cost, virtual training designed specifically for speech pathologists just beginning to work with the zero to five population.
