School-Based Assessment (Option 1)
DISCOVER Staff Conducts Standard Group
Assessment in Your School
In this option, DISCOVER staff members conduct most of the Assessment components, whether in Tucson, or on-site in your school. The school is responsible merely for providing the necessary facilities and scheduling. The school usually also provides an Assessment leader (discussed below) and any translators needed for students with dominant languages other than English.
Assessments typically involve all the students in a regular classroom but in certain cases, students from several classrooms or several schools can be mixed together. The group being assessed must contain a minimum of 5 students and there is no upper size limit. We recommend a range between 10 and 30 students. We will bring a separate DISCOVER Observer for each group of 5 students. (Or if preferred, we can bring fewer Observers and conduct the Assessments over more than one day). Each Assessment also requires an “Assessment leader”, someone who handles the logistics (reading directions, handling organizational and disciplinary issues), allowing the observers to focus on their tasks. The Assessment leader can be a DISCOVER staff member, if necessary, but we recommend it to be the regular teacher whenever possible, or otherwise a counselor or school staff member familiar to the students. There is an extra charge when DISCOVER also provides the Assessment leader. If the Assessment is to be conducted in more than one language, the leader (or leader’s assistants) should be able to give directions in each language.
How It’s Done: The standard Assessment contains five activities. Three of these—Spatial Artistic, Spatial Analytical, and Oral Linguistic—require Observers and are conducted consecutively on the same day. The other two activities—Logical Mathematical and Written Linguistic—do not require Observers, usually are administered by the classroom teacher, and can be completed on a different day. The Writing and Math activities are later scored in Tucson. (Note that Assessments done in Tucson, or on-site Assessments involving students from more than one classroom, finish all five activities on the same day.) A break occurs between each of the three “observed” activities, giving Observers time to prepare for the next one. During this time, the children leave the Assessment area (for recreation, lunch, or other short events) and the Assessment leader is responsible for transferring the children back and forth. When the three activities requiring observers are completed—usually 2 1/2 to 3 hours—Observers meet to debrief and confer on ratings. Once the categorization of ratings and other data is complete, the information is entered into a database and used to generate strength profiles for each student being assessed (in Tucson).
In Tucson: Fee of $120 per student covers the Assessment and Strength Profile. The per-student fee drops to $110 if more than 20 students will be assessed.
Optional Components Available to Parents in Coordination with the Assessments:
1) A personal interview to gather information about a particular student’s interests, learning experiences, and perception of his or her strengths. This interview is an excellent way of helping the student and parents integrate the Assessment results into the everyday learning environment and a development of goals. ($60 per student)
2) Observations of the student in his/her educational setting. This option, coupled with the Assessment, is particularly useful and effective for a child who is struggling in the regular classroom. The DISCOVER Observer can make many suggestions for improving both learning environment and learning style. Availability of this option is conditional upon the child’s teacher granting permission for such an observation and upon schedule coordination between the Observer and the class time. Advance preparations are necessary. ($150 per student)
3) A conference with the child’s teacher(s) to assist in creating a better learning environment. In this option, the DISCOVER staff member goes with the parent to meet with teacher(s), to act as an advocate for the child. Teachers may not know how to use the Assessment results and may be unfamiliar with the many effective learning techniques advocated by DISCOVER. With this option, the teacher will learn how to personalize the classroom and teach the child from the perspective of his or her strengths. Availability of this option is conditional upon the child’s teacher(s) granting permission for the interview and upon schedule coordination between the Observer and the teacher(s). Advance preparations are necessary. ($100 per student)
On Site at Your School (Continental U.S. Only): Fee of $155 per student plus travel expenses for DISCOVER staff members covers the Assessment and Strength Profile. The per-student fee drops to $140 if more than 20 students will be assessed. The same optional components specified above are available on-site, if scheduling details are worked out sufficiently in advance.
International: Fees at locations outside of the continental U.S. will vary, depending on the distance and circumstances. Please contact the DISCOVER office for a customized rate plan.
Note: If your school plans to assess more than 50 students, consider Assessment option 2 instead. It likely will reduce your assessment costs and offer your staff more flexibility. A DISCOVER staff person can help you decide which method of assessing is most appropriate.
If for some reason your school is unable to provide an Assessment leader, DISCOVER can provide one for you. The cost is $450 per day. As mentioned earlier, we prefer that the Assessment leader be the regular teacher, if possible.
