Contrary to what we may think, evaluating does not have to do with judging in its most classic conception, rather, When we talk about psychopedagogical evaluation, we refer to measuring the aspects involved in the student’s teaching/learning process with the aim of knowing what their difficulties are and most importantly, their abilities and skills.
However, the evaluation does not focus exclusively on the assessment of the individual, but also includes aspects that have to do with how the student relates to the context and environment, both educational and family. Areas closely related to your educational response.
What do we understand by psychopedagogical evaluation?
Psychopedagogical evaluation provides us with a snapshot of the areas of development in which the person has greater or lesser difficulty And this information helps us to accompany the student in achieving optimal development, designing the appropriate instruments that highlight their potential and thus compensating for difficulties.
We could say that it would be like making a “tailored suit” that, in addition to being comfortable, is functional.
When to evaluate?
Although it is true that the evaluation provides us with very valuable information, it is not always necessary and convenient to do it
A child should be evaluated whenever some type of difficulty appears related to the handling of symbols (language), if changes are detected in academic performance or we observe difficulties in basic instrumental areas, if oppositionism is appreciated in the acceptance of norms, if There are conflicts in social interaction, if we detect emotional and coexistence crises or discipline problems.
We can also determine the performance of a psycho-pedagogical evaluation to accompany the decision-making process for vocational and/or professional guidance.
How to evaluate?
It is important that we inform the student that we are going to carry out an evaluation It is common in consultations to find a high percentage of children who arrive at the session without knowing why they are coming. Of course, the message will have to be adapted to the age and maturation of the child, but it is important that we inform them.
We adults tend to interpret that there are things that are better for children not to know, or perhaps there are issues that are difficult to address because we parents do not know how to explain them. And accepting that we do not have to know everything is a fact that must be admitted and This attitude can be very valuable in building our children’s self-concept
If we feel unsure in this area, we can ask the professionals who will be in charge of the evaluation for advice so they can guide us on how to transfer the information.
Children cope better with the task if they know something about what they are going to do, therefore, arming them with information and preparing them for action will improve evaluation results The child already generates an expectation and does not encounter a new situation in which he may be more inhibited.
Another factor that influences the inhibition or not of the evaluated person in the development of the session has to do with the feeling of private space. It is important to inform the child that the evaluation will be carried out under the premise of privacy and that everything that is going to be said outside the space about the evaluation itself will be consensual.
What must be taken into account when carrying out a psycho-pedagogical evaluation?
These are the main elements to consider in a psychopedagogical evaluation.
1 Based on the demand from the school
Tutor, teachers, guidance department, or any request that the family may make to us. Establishing a first premise helps us focus on the problem and be able to assess what type of evaluation we have to carry out and what areas are susceptible to being evaluated.
2. Age
It is important to adjust the evaluation to the age of the evaluated Evaluating a child who is in the early stage is not the same as evaluating a child who is entering the preadolescent stage. Therefore, age is essential to know what type of evaluation we are going to perform.
3. Difficulty analysis
Establish evaluation criteria depending on the information collected.
4. Observation
To carry out an adequate evaluation it is necessary that we learn to observe
5. Use broad-spectrum evaluation instruments
These might be observation lists, structured interviews, etc
The use of these instruments is essential since in many cases the initial demand does not coincide with the underlying problem or is generating difficulties associated with the learning tasks. This evaluation of the general aspects guides us on which are the focuses in which we must delve deeper into the evaluation.
Are have to do with academic skills Motivation, memory, executive functions, learning information processing.
7. Evaluating emotional aspects and competencies can be of great help
These variables are closely related to academic performance. And in many cases an apparently learning problem can be determined by a difficulty in emotional management.
Summary
As we can see from all of the above, psychopedagogical evaluation is not free of complexity. Correct detection and understanding of the difficulty is essential to achieve success in the intervention.
