At the OT Schoolhouse, we support school-based occupational therapy practitioners to use evidence, research, and best practices to feel more confident in their role and to avoid burnout.
Are standardized assessments necessary?
Presented by
OT Schoolhouse Collaborative
Hey Reader,
This week, we are continuing the topic of evaluations but from a different perspective.
I want to address another common question I receive:
Are standardized assessment tools REQUIRED in school-based OT evaluations?
To save you the suspense, the answer in most cases is no. Here's why.
IDEA, AOTA, state OT practice laws, and state education laws govern what constitutes OT in schools and provide insights into what an evaluation should look like.
Let's start with the simplest organization of the four to interpret - AOTA.
AOTA Policies
In the OT Practice Framework - 4, AOTA stipulates that an evaluation must include a comprehensive analysis and synthesis of the client's occupational profile, including their strengths, areas for improvement, and factors influencing their ability to participate in meaningful activities. However, they do not require that standardized assessments must be used to achieve that.
IDEA
Then you have IDEA, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act - the law that oversees special education. Concerning evaluations and using standardized assessment, IDEA states that evaluations must be individualized and consider various assessment tools and strategies to gather relevant functional, developmental, and academic information about the child.
While IDEA emphasizes the importance of using valid and reliable assessments, it does not specifically mandate the use of standardized tests. Instead, it encourages a holistic approach that considers each child's unique needs and abilities.
State Education Laws or “Code”
Most state education codes tend to align closely with IDEA. This is because they must meet (or surpass) the IDEA expectations if they want to receive federal funding.
For example, the California Education Code emphasizes the importance of conducting assessments that are appropriate for the individual student and relevant to their educational needs.
While the California law does recognize the value of standardized assessments as a tool in the evaluation process, it also highlights the need for a comprehensive assessment approach that includes observations, interviews, work samples, and informal assessments.
Essentially, the focus is on gathering data that accurately reflects the student's abilities and informs the development of appropriate educational programs and services - not the tests that are used to do that.
State OT Practice Act
And then there is your state's practice act. Since I already picked my home state of California, let's use another state here.
How about Texas?
The December (2023) OT Rules of Texas lay out six requirements for evaluations:
(2) Only an occupational therapist may perform an initial evaluation or any reevaluations.
(3) An occupational therapy plan of care must be based on an occupational therapy evaluation.
As you can see, while there are stipulations that you must follow, the use of standardized assessment tools is not one of them.
I must admit, the mandate for synchronous audio and synchronous visual contact rule did surprise me - in a good way.
This is a great time for me to remind you to READ YOUR STATE PRACTICE ACT!!!
Getting back on track now. None of these four laws/entities that we've looked at today require the use of a standardized assessment in school-based OT.
However, you need to review your state laws to determine if you are required to use standardized assessment tools.
Of course, this does not answer the question of whether or not we should use standardized assessments. That is more of a research question, and I'll save that conversation for another day.
So, if you want to confirm that you do not need to use standardized tools in your school-based OT evaluations, here is a short checklist for you:
- Read your state OT practice act
- Read your state education law that governs special education
- Check with your school/district/county administrators to see if they have placed additional requirements regarding assessments.
- Email me and let me know what conclusions you came to for your state.
Okay, that last one is optional.
But really, let me know. Then I can share with everyone I know that Reader helped me find the answer for your state!
Do you have a question that you would like me to address in a future newsletter or podcast episode? Fill out this quick form and continue to read this very newsletter. Or, if you would like a quicker and more tailored response, be sure to check out the OT Schoolhouse Collaborative.
Looking for School-based OT Evaluation Templates?
We make all of our school-based OT templates available to members of the OT Schoolhouse Collaborative.
Whether you are looking for the evaluation template I use, a checklist to make sure your evals are thorough, a teacher observation request, parent and teacher questionnaires, or others to help save you time, you'll find them inside the OT Schoolhouse Collaborative!
the OT Schoolhouse Collaborative is your go-to membership for school-based OT for all things school-based OT template, plus professional development, mentorship, therapist collaboration, and even a school-based OT goal bank!
Click here to learn more and join the Collaborative!
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✨ Integrating Artificial Intelligence in OT Practice: On January 25th, I participated in an AOTA panel discussion on how OT practitioners can incorporate OT into their practice setting. It was a fantastic discussion, and it is now available free for both AOTA members and non-members.
✨ Using AI to help write your evaluation? Everbility is making it happen! Have a look at what Angela, an OT based in Australia, and her husband are creating. *Affiliate link*
LAST WORD 👋
REQUIRED vs. BEST PRACTICE
Now, this wrap-up is not necessarily associated with the above evaluation topic.
But I just want to emphasize that not everything REQUIRED of school-based OT practitioners is best practice.
Likewise, BEST PRACTICES are not always required.
As a therapist, you are constantly tasked with managing what is required and what is best practice. Oftentimes, there is overlap, and doing what is required is also best practice (ex., completing an evaluation before rendering services).
But when best practices do not align with laws or even school policies, that is when things can get messy. And when that happens, you have to make tough choices about how you plan to move forward.
Do you continue with what is required?
Do you ignore what is required?
Or do you advocate for change while doing one of the above?
🤷♂️
Those are the things that make our job difficult.
Thank you so much for opening up this email and having a read. Whether you clicked on any of the links above or not, I hope the content helped you improve your practice, even if just 1%.
For help with tough questions like the one above, be sure to check out the OT Schoolhouse Collaborative. I love helping therapists with these individualized conversations inside the Collab, and I would love to support you too!
See you next week!
👋 Jayson
Jayson Davies, MA, OTR/L
Say hi 👋 on Instagram, LinkedIn,
and inside the OT Schoolhouse Collaborative
Jayson Davies, OTR/L
At the OT Schoolhouse, we support school-based occupational therapy practitioners to use evidence, research, and best practices to feel more confident in their role and to avoid burnout.
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