Definition

Age-appropriate assessments are an ongoing process of collecting data on students' strengths, preferences, interests, and needs as they relate to the demands of current and future working, educational, living, personal, and social environments.

(Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, Sec. 300.43, Transition services)

Foundation for the Assessment Process

Age-appropriate transition assessments are updated and reviewed annually. Information from these assessments serves as the common thread in the transition process to define goals and services included in the IEP (Sitlington et al., 1997). This information is gathered from multiple sources and not from a one-time survey, test, or event.

Information from assessments should be used for:

Developing measurable postsecondary goals
Supporting annual goals
Identifying transition services
Making agency connections

Goals for Transition Assessment Participation

Keeping students at the center of the assessment process leads to greater success in developing the transition process. A student’s involvement in transition assessments provide them opportunities to make informed choices about their future by identifying their skills and defining their preferences, interests, and needs.

Students should be actively involved in the development of their IEP while learning and practicing self-awareness and self-determination skills, and, along with their families, learning to understand and address the skills needed for reaching their postsecondary goals.

Regardless of the level of need and type of disability of the student, all students must be included in the assessment process to the full extent possible beginning by age 16 or earlier if appropriate.

(Sec. 300.321 (b) Transition services participants)

Next: Assessment Components