Assessments
"Fun" screenings are at the bottom of this page.

Assessment Examples:

Online Screenings:

Commonly Used Assessments:
Adjustment Scales for Children and Adolescents (ASCA) is used with youth ages 5-17. It contains
156 items that measure positive and problem behaviors in contextual situations involving authority,
peers, smaller or weaker youths, recreation, learning, and confrontation and identifies six core
syndromes: Attention-Deficit Hyperactive, Solitary Aggressive (Provocative), Solitary Aggressive
(Impulsive), Oppositional Defiant, Diffident, and Avoidant, and two supplementary syndromes:
Delinquent and Lethargic (Hypoactive).

Asperger Syndrome Diagnostic Scale (ASDS) is designed to identify children and adolescents ages 5-
18 who exhibit characteristics of Asperger's Syndrome. Included are symptoms in maladaptions,
socialization, language, cognition, sensory development, and motor development. It is for use by
clinicians to identify those persons who have Asperger's Syndrome, document behavioral progress
as a consequence of special intervention programs, target goals for change on the Individualized
Education Programs (IEP) and help in research.

Autism Behavior Checklist (ABC) part of a broader tool, the Autism Screening Instrument for
Educational Planning (ASIEP), that profiles abilities in spontaneous verbal behavior, social
interaction, education level, and learning characteristics. It is designed to be completed
independently by a parent or a teacher familiar with a child older than age 3. It measures target
behaviors for intervention and can be repeated to clarify the impact of treatment interventions. The
Checklist is divided into 5 categories of behavior: sensory, relating, body and object use, language,
and social and self-help.

Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule (ADOS) is a standardized instrument for diagnosis of
autism designed to detect social and communicative behavior associated with autism and related
disorders. It is used with children older than age 2. General ratings are provided for 4 areas:
reciprocal social interaction, communication/language, stereotyped/restricted behaviors, and mood
and non-specific abnormal behaviors.

Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI) intended to assess general anxiety symptoms in children and
adolescents age 7 and older. It can be used for screening for significant anxiety or for measuring
improvements with treatments on anxiety symptoms.

Beck Anxiety Inventory for Youth (BYI) reflects children's specific worries about school performance,
the future, negative reactions of others, fears including loss of control, and physiological symptoms
associated with anxiety. Allows for early identification of symptoms of anxiety in children and
adolescents ages 7-14.

Beck Youth Inventories of Emotional and Social Impairment (BYI) five self-report assessments for
children and adolescents 7-14 years old can be used separately or in any combination to assess a
youth's experiences of depression, anxiety, anger, disruptive behavior, and self-concept.

Behavioral Assessment System for Children (BASC) for ages 1.5 through 18 years. Six functional
areas are assessed, including adaptability, activities of daily living, functional communication,
leadership, social skills, and study skills. Clinical areas assessed include aggression, anxiety,
attention problems, atypicality, conduct problems, depression, hyperactivity, learning problems,
physical complaints, and withdrawal.

Child/Adolescent Psychiatry Screen (CAPS) is an 85-item screen is organized around symptoms of
common psychiatric disorders in children and adolescents ages 3-21. It allows parents to prioritize
symptoms rapidly to discuss with their clinicians. This screen is useful for identifying target
symptoms or disorders

Child Behavior Checklists (CBCL) is used for evaluating children and adolescents ages 6-18,
measures problems with aggressive behavior, anxiety/depression, attention, rule-breaking behavior,
social interaction, physical complaints, disordered thought, and withdrawn/depressed behavior. It is
used for initial assessment and can also measure changes in behavior over time or following a
treatment. The Parent Checklist is one of the most widely used parental ratings for behavioral
problems and social skills in children.

Childhood Asperger Syndrome Test (CAST) is a screening measure, designed for parents to answer
about their children ages 4-11 and is based on the core features of the autism spectrum disorder. If
parents suspect an autism spectrum disorder, they can complete this test and take it to their
primary care provider.

Childhood Autism Rating Scale (CARS) is a behavior rating scale helps to identify children, older than
age 2, with autism, and to distinguish them from developmentally delayed children who do not have
autism. Because it gives a symptom severity rating, the CARS may be useful for periodic monitoring
and for assessing response to treatments or interventions.

Conners Parent Rating Scale (CPRS-R) or Conners Teacher Rating Scale (CTRS-R) assess conduct
problems, learning problems, physical symptoms, impulsivity, hyperactivity, and anxiety in children
and adolescents ages 3-17. These scales are used to evaluate symptoms at home and in the
classroom.

Depression and Anxiety in Youth Scales (DAYS) screening tools measure anxiety, depression, and
social maladjustment in children and adolescents ages 6-19.

Developmental Assessment of Young Children (DAY-C) identifies children birth through 5-11 with
possible delays in the domains of cognition, communication, social emotional development, physical
development, and adaptive behavior. (FAQ)

Developmental Assessments Summary.

Endler Multidimensional Anxiety Scales (EMAS) has three scales which are designed for adolescents
ages 12-17 and written at an 8th grade reading level. The scales measure state anxiety-the
individual's actual temporary anxiety response; the individual's tendency to experience anxiety in
four different types of situations: socially-evaluative, physically dangerous, new or ambiguous, and
routine; and the individual's perception of the type and intensity of threat in the immediate situation.

Kiddie Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia (Kiddie-SADS) interview is primarily for
use in research settings, and is to be administered by a clinician trained in its use, so it will rarely be
used in ordinary clinical settings. It covers a broad spectrum of most child psychiatric diagnoses,
with the exception of Pervasive Development Disorders and personality disorders. It is used with
children ages 6-18.

Gilliam Asperger's Disorder Scale (GADS) is a behavioral rating scale that identifies and helps
diagnose individuals ages 3-22. It includes 4 core subscales: social interaction, restricted patterns of
behavior, cognitive patterns, and pragmatic skills. Also has an optional subscale for early
development.

Pediatric Symptom Checklist (PSC), for children and adolescents ages 6-16, is designed to alert
clinicians early to difficulties in functioning that may indicate current or potential psychosocial
problems, so that early intervention might be provided. It is used only as a screening tool and not
to make a formal diagnosis or measure treatment interventions.

Revised Children's Manifest Anxiety Scale (RCMAS-2) is used with children and adolescents ages 6-
19. It contains 37 yes/no items: 28 related to anxiety, and 9 concerning social desirability.

Reynolds Adolescent Adjustment Screening Inventory (RAASI) is a self-report screening measure of
psychological adjustment for use with adolescents ages 12-19. There are four scales: antisocial
behavior, anger control problems, emotional distress, and self-esteem and social inhibition.

Social Communication Questionnaire (SCQ), previously Autism Screening Questionnaire (ASQ), helps
evaluate communication skills and social functioning in children and adolescents who may have
autism or autism spectrum disorders. The questionnaire can be used to evaluate anyone older than
age 4, as long as mental age exceeds 2.0 years. It helps to determine whether a child or adolescent
should be referred for a complete diagnostic evaluation.

Social Skills Rating System (SSRS) is a standardized series of questionnaires to screen and classify
children and adolescents ages 8-18 suspected of having social behavior problems. These
questionnaires evaluate teacher-student relationships, peer acceptance, and academic performance
by assessing both positive and problem social behaviors.

Swanson, Nolan and Pelham (SNAP)-Revised was devised primarily for ADHD in youth ages 6-18.
Criteria for ADHD and Oppositional Defiant Disorder are also included. In addition, contains 10 items
about classroom symptoms of inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity. Additional items assess
Conduct Disorder, Intermittent Explosive Disorder, Tourette's Disorder, Stereotypic Movement
Disorder, Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, Generalized Anxiety Disorder, Narcolepsy, Manic Episode,
Major Depressive Episode, and Dysthymic Disorder. (Score)

Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scale (VABS) is multidimensional and reflects the individual's personal
and social skills as he interacts with his environment. Primary purpose of the VABS is to assess the
social abilities of an individual, whose age ranges from preschool to 18 years old. The results reliably
reveal crucial information for diagnosing various disabilities, including autism, Asperger syndrome,
mental retardation, and speech impairment. Since adaptive behavior is a composite of various
dimensions, the test measures five domains. These are the Communication, Daily Living Skills,
Socialization, Motor Skills, and Maladaptive Behavior domains.

Yale-Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale (CY-BOCS) is used with children and adolescents ages 6-14
while the (YBOCS) is used in adolescents older than age 14. It is commonly used as a research tool
for assessing obsessive-compulsive symptoms. Multiple versions of this instrument have evolved.
(for example, a version measures OCD symptoms in children with autism) In addition, a symptom
checklist is available and can be used to identify target symptoms. The YBOCS rating scale is a
gradated scale to measure the severity of OCD symptoms and can be repeated to measure
treatments and interventions.


Specific Specialty Area Testing (conducted by a specialist in each area) - Not all students need
specialty area testing. If there are concerns with speech and language, a Speech Therapist will
conduct an assessment. If the concerns are in motor skills, an Occupational Therapist will do an
assessment for fine motor skills or a Physical Therapist for gross motor skills. If the student's
hearing or vision is in question, an appropriate person will do an evaluation.

Cognitive Assessments/Intellectual Abilities
  • Examples:Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (WISC), Differential Ability Scales (DAS),
    Stanford Binet Intelligence (SB)
  • These assessments measure a student's intellectual abilities.
  • The test gives general information about a student's abilities compared to others their age in
    several areas.
  • The test shows the ability to problem solve, how information is best interpreted (visual-
    seeing, auditory-hearing, etc.) and measures other areas such as memory and speed for
    processing information.
  • These provide information about a student's intellectual strengths and weaknesses, as well as
    insight into overall cognitive potential (Full scale IQ).
  • The tests are intended to be a predictor of how well and in what ways a child will learn new
    information.
  • When there is a significant scatter (highs and lows) in the different areas, the overall score
    may not reflect the child's overall potential and should look more closely at the scores in the
    scales.

Educational Assessment/Academic Achievement
  • Examples: Wechsler Individual Achievement Test (WIAT), Woodcock Johnson-Tests of
    Achievement (WJ), Kaufman Test of Educational Achievement (KTEA)
  • These assessments compare a student's academic functioning with other students of the
    same age.
  • The test usually focuses on Reading, Writing, Math and Oral Language and looks at several
    areas within each major area.  
  • They typically use a 10 point Standard Score. Between 90-109 are typically the Average range
    and consist of the level of skills acquired by most children. 100 is the Mean (or exact average)
    and the farther away from 100 the score is the more atypical or different.
  • In a regular education classroom the majority of students would score in the Average range,
    Low Average range (80-89) or High Average range (110-119).
  • Typically, a student's academic achievement scores will be quite similar to the cognitive ability
    scores or IQ.
  • If the scores are well below measured cognitive potential, it may signify a Learning Disability.
    However, there are a several reasons that can cause academic achievement to be different
    from cognitive ability.

Criterion-referenced Tests
  • The tests are used to measure student mastery of instructional objectives or curriculum
    (absolute performance) rather than to compare one student with another or to rank students.
  • They are often used as end-of-unit tests in textbooks or as a "benchmark" to identify areas of
    strength or weakness in a given curriculum, readiness to move on to a different level of
    instruction, etc.
  • Typically, raw scores are used to reflect the number of correct responses, the number of
    completed objectives, etc.
  • Such tests will often use percentages to reflect the level of mastery of a given instructional
    objective, such as setting a goal of "90% correct addition problems."
  • Raw scores are converted to a percent correct.


The following are JUST FOR FUN. Online "assessments"/games/tests are not reliable. Do not believe
that they are.

PsychCentral: Psychological Tests and Quizzes.

Harvard-IAT: This web site presents a method that demonstrates the conscious-unconscious
divergences much more convincingly than has been possible with previous methods. This new
method is called the Implicit Association Test or IAT for short.

Hanover: Psychological Research on the Net-Links to known experiments on the internet that are
psychologically related.

Cognitive Labs: Cognitive "Tests"-Thinking Speed, Free Memory, Visual Speed, Memory, Brain
Aging. All Tests.

BBC: Science, Nature and Mind: Surveys and Psychology Tests.

StepOne Screening-Free, online tools to: Screen your child privately and quickly, Identify clinical and
behavioral problems, Get help for potentially serious problems, Save time and money and Measure
the value of medications and therapy.