Transition Assessment Process

The IDEA requirements from 1990 and 1997 changed in 2004 creating a few amendments. These transitions assessments were affected by several changes which increased the accountability of districts and states by changing the definition of transition services to coordinated set of activities “designed within a results-oriented” process. The change from “outcome-oriented” to “results-oriented” stressed the importance of identifying the postsecondary results of transition services and activities at the secondary level. Another significant change was the need to identify measurable postsecondary goals in the areas of education, employment, and independent living as needed. Some other changes concerning transition assessment and IDEA 2004 include
All of these are taken into consideration when identifying measurable postsecondary goals, courses of study, transition services, IEP goals and objectives.An educator must gather information for the purposes of planning, instruction, or placement to aid in individual decision making. For effective transition planning assessment strategies must involve the student, the family, and multiple disciplines, including educators, related service providers, diagnosticians, speech therapists, occupational and physical therapist.One of the most important aspects of assessments in the transition years is that it should be ongoing and continuous. Adolescent and young adult students are experiencing tremendous developmental
Ongoing evaluation is very important to ensure their final adult plans represent the accumulation of the student’s growth, education, and experiences before leaving high school.Some transition assessments may include some of the same tests as those used by special educators to determine eligibility and to test general areas of achievement, performance, and behavior. However, transition assessment must also address abilities and needs related to specific individualized adult outcomes, including the student’s success with specific tasks in actual environments.Transition assessments may be conducted for several reasons. These reasons include: to develop IEP goals and objectives for the transition component of the IEP, to make instructional programming decisions, and to include information in the present level of performance related to a student’s interests, preferences, and needs. In addition, transition assessment is an excellent way to learn about individual students, especially their strengths outside of academics and their career ambitions. The results of transition assessments should be used in making recommendations for instructional strategies, accommodations in instruction, and environments to meet the student’s