NONDISCRIMINATORY ASSESSMENTS
Teams must document that assessments for an initial evaluation or reevaluation were selected and administered so as not to be discriminatory.
Do Your Assessments Look Like This?

In any Evaluation or Reevaluation
We Must Affirm that we Do NOT Behave This Way
Legal Requirement
Teams must document that assessments used during initial or reevaluation are selected and administered without racial or cultural discrimination.
This includes
Selection of assessments with validity for specific purposes to which they were employed;
Administration by qualified personnel in the student's native language or other preferred mode of communication and in a form most likely to yield accurate information about the student's academic, developmental, and functional abilities, unless clearly not feasible.
Why?
To ensure that evaluations accurately reflect the student's abilities rather than being influenced by racial, cultural, or linguistic biases.
How is Compliance Determined?
The most recent initial evaluation or reevaluation record should document that non-discrimination was considered. This may appear in prior written notice forms, evaluation reports, teacher/provider notes, or other records. Staff can reference assessment technical manuals or include notes explaining how non-discrimination was ensured.
When Does This Apply?
For assessments or evaluations used as part of initial evaluation or reevaluation.
Eligibility Documentation Examples
[student] was assessed in [student's] native language, which is English. The following standardized assessments described within this report were selected as part of this evaluation, and were determined to be nondiscriminatory on a racial and cultural basis for this student based on professional understanding of the assessment and bias mitigation as noted in the technical manual(s). Multiple measures were used to mitigate the impact of bias in this evaluation and will be further described in this report. Any limitations that may exist and result in bias due to racial, cultural or economic factors were reviewed and considered as part of this evaluation, and determined to not be a significant factor in current eligibility determination.
[student] was not assessed in [student's] native language, which is Spanish. However, STUDENT’S formal education has been in English. The following standardized assessments described within this report were selected as part of this evaluation, and were determined to be nondiscriminatory on a racial and cultural basis for this student based on professional understanding of the assessment and bias mitigation as noted in the technical manual(s). Multiple measures were used to mitigate the impact of bias in this evaluation and will be further described in this report. Any limitations that may exist and result in bias due to racial, cultural or economic factors were reviewed and considered as part of this evaluation, and determined to not be a significant factor in current eligibility determination.
The team selected assessments validated for use with a student with these characteristics, as demonstrated in the assessment technical manuals. All assessments were administered in the student's native language by trained evaluators to ensure accurate results.
Assessments were selected based on their alignment with the student's cultural background and validated for diverse populations. The [specific assessment name] was administered according to standardized procedures outlined in the manual. Administration accommodated the student's bilingual abilities, using both oral and written instructions in their preferred language.
According to the technical manual for the [specific test], this assessment is appropriate for students from [specific demographic group]. It has been validated for use with [cite language or cultural characteristic), minimizing cultural bias. This aligns with the student’s cultural and linguistic needs. (You will find more detailed examples for specific tests in the folder linked above).
The multidisciplinary team members considered [student's] demographics in selecting and administering the evaluation assessments and materials. Because this student’s racial/cultural background (white) is the same as the majority of the population on which these cognitive and academic assessments were normed, the battery of tests selected ensure unbiased evaluation.
The assessments selected as part of this evaluation were determined to be nondiscriminatory on a racial and cultural basis for this student based on professional understanding of the assessment and bias mitigation as noted in the technical manuals. Any limitations that may exist and result in bias due to racial or cultural factors were reviewed and considered as part of this evaluation and determined to not be a significant factor in current eligibility determination.
The team ensured assessments were not racially or culturally biased by selecting tools validated for [name student's cultural/linguistic] characteristics.
The [specific test] was chosen for its focus on [list construct such as aptitude, academics, behaviors], limiting error that could invalidate results.
Due to the student's limited proficiency in English, instructions for the [specific test] were translated into the student's native language. The evaluator documented all modifications and verified that the test results accurately reflected the student’s skills and abilities, rather than their language proficiency.
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