What Is Transition Assessment?

According to The Division on Career Development and Transition (DCDT) of the Council for Exceptional Children, transition assessment is defined as an “…ongoing process of collecting data on the individual’s needs, preferences, and interests as they relate to the demands of current and future working, educational, living, and personal and social environments.  Assessment data serve as the common thread in the transition process and form the basis for defining goals and services to be included in the Individualized Education Program (IEP)”. 

IDEA 2004 requires that students receive age appropriate transition assessments related to education, employment, and where appropriate, independent living skills. IDEA 2004 also states that age appropriate assessments will help IEP teams make informed decisions about students reaching their postsecondary goals.  

Types of transition assessments include:

• Behavioral Assessment Information 
• Aptitude Tests 
• Interest and Work Values Inventories 
• Intelligence Tests
• Achievement Tests
• Personality or Preference Tests
• Career Maturity or Readiness Tests 
• Self-Determination Assessments
• Work-related temperament scales 
• Transition planning inventories
  

            2.  Example of Data Sheet 2

Most states suggest using some combination of the following types of transition assessments:  

1. paper and pencil tests,

2. structured student and family interviews,

3. observational community or work-based assessments (situational), and

4. curriculum-based assessments.

What are they?

Formal Assessments

These assessments are standardized instruments that have been tested and have data to show that reliability and validity measures support their use.  For the most part, these instruments also have independent reviews in texts (e.g., A Counselor’s Guide to Career Assessment Instruments – 4^th Edition) or on-line at http://www.unl.edu/buros/.  Examples of formal assessments include:

1.    Self-Directed Search (Forms E, R, and Explorer), 

2.    Career Interest Inventory (Levels One and Two),

3.    Campbell Interest and Skill Survey,

4.    Wonderlic Basic Skills Test, and

5.    Differential Aptitude Test.

Informal Assessments

These assessments generally lack formal reliability and validity measures and require more subjectivity to complete.  They should be given more than once and by more than one person to strengthen their validity.  Examples of informal assessments include:  

• Enderle-Severson Transition Rating Scale (ESTR),
• Transition Planning Inventory,
• Life Centered Career Education (LCCE) Performance and 
  Knowledge Battery,
• Situational or observational learning styles assessments,
• Curriculum-based assessment from courses,
• Observational reports,
• Situational assessments,
• Structured interviews,
• Personal-future planning activities, and
• Functional skill inventories.   

Who Is Involved In Data Collection?
Parents         
Teachers       
Students                                         
Paraprofessionals            
Speech and Language Therapist       
School counselor                            
Social worker    
Family Members 
Job Coach 
Psychologist 
Vocational Evaluator 
School Nurse 
Employment Vendor 
Physical Therapist                              
                
Why Should Transition Assessments Be Conducted?

There are many reasons why transition assessments should be conducted.  Here are a few:

1.    formal and informal transition assessments are mandated by federal
   and state laws,

2.    to development IEP goals and objectives for the transition
   components of the IEP,

3.    to make instructional programming decisions,

4.    to include information in the present level of performance related to
   the student’s interests, and needs.

Transition Assessment Results

The transition assessment results should be used in making recommendations for instructional strategies and accommodations in instruction and environments to meet the student’s strengths and needs.  The results will help the students make a connection between their individual academic program and their post-school ambitions. 

Sources for the above-information:  National Secondary Transition Technical Assistance Center and the Virginia Department of Education 

The Arc of Tennessee's Secondary Transition Project
Transition to Adulthood
Best Practices in the Secondary Transition Process

Secondary Transition Family Handbook (html version)

Transition Checklist Age 12-15
Transition Checklist Age 14-21

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