Unlocking Success: The Power of End-of-Year Assessments in School-Based Therapy
Hi Friends!
I have something to say and it may not be what you want to hear, but…
We need to do assessments at the end of the school year for our progress reports.
I know, I know, but hear me out!
As we gear up for the final stretch of the school year, let's talk about why those end-of-year progress reports are more than just a box to check and how informal assessments can help. They're like the GPS guiding us on our road map to lasting speech therapy success.
While it may be tempting to just report on what the student has done in the past nine weeks, or other reporting period, doing a simple, informal assessment can do so much more and if you're using the right tools, can be a huge time saver!
Not sold yet? Keep reading on!
The Pros of Assessment:
- Track Progress: Ever wonder how far your students have come since day one? End-of-year assessments give us the scoop. They help us see the long-term progress they've made, celebrate those wins, and figure out what we need to work on next.
- Check Goals: Remember those goals we scribbled down way back when? Now's the time to see how we're doing. Are we smashing them out of the park, or do we need to give them a little extra love? Assessments give us the lowdown and help us plan for new goals and objectives going into the new year.
- Plan Ahead: Armed with assessment data, we're like strategists planning our next move. Do we need to tweak our game plan for certain students? Are there new strategies we want to try out next year? Assessments help us map out our path to success, and having this data is a great springboard for next year when we can't remember where our students were at for each and every goal!
- Share the Wins: Let's not keep all the good stuff to ourselves. End-of-year assessments give us something to shout about—to parents, teachers, and anyone else who needs to know how awesome our students are. I love letting kids know how far they've come, and it helps increase their motivation!
- Celebrate Big Time: Last but not least, let's throw a party for all the progress, big and small. Every achievement deserves a high-five and a happy dance, whether it's mastering a tough speech sound or nailing a tricky language concept. And I'm not just talking about the student; celebrate what a fabulous SLP you are by getting the full picture of what you've been doing all school year!
Not sure where to start?
Use all of the tools to easily tackle the end of the year in The Speech Therapy Toolbox. It's like having your own personal assistant for these areas of speech and language! Not only do these resources come with progress monitoring activities, they also come complete with data sheets and can be used digitally or in print.
Progress monitoring for all the things at your fingertips? Yes please!
Happy Speeching!
