The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) is clear in its requirement for schools to conduct age-appropriate transition assessments every year as part of the IEP process. However, the law does not define "age-appropriate transition assessment" nor does it describe what these assessments are supposed to be measuring. As a result, there are a wide range of varying assessment practices throughout California as districts and schools struggle to find and implement appropriate assessments. Moreover, incomplete and faulty assessment practices are one of the main reasons why districts find themselves in litigation related to transition. 

Fortunately, since the 2004 reauthorization of IDEA, many of these questions related to age-appropriate transition assessment have been brought before the courts for interpretation. These court findings have provided some guidance and implications for legally sound practices surrounding transition assessment. Aside from court interpretations, major organizations and technical assistance centers have conducted wide-scale research programs designed to identify the transition skills that are most correlated to postsecondary success for students with disabilities. Findings from decades of research have informed which transition skills we should be measuring on our age-appropriate transition assessments.

This Transition Assessment training module presents the law's requirement for "age-appropriate transition assessment" and then uses recent court cases and findings from research to unpack the school's responsibilities related to this area.

This Transition Assessment training module will answer the following questions:

-What does IDEA say about transition assessment?
-What are we supposed to measure on transition assessments?
-Do we need to measure or assess all life skills for every student?
-Should academics be considered in the transition assessment process? If so, how?
-How do I know when a student needs an independent living assessment?
-Do I need parent consent on an Assessment Plan before conducting transition assessments?
-Are written reports required for transition assessments?
-Should parent input be included in the transition assessment process? How?
-How do I know if the transition assessment I am using is legally sound and aligned to best practices?

In addition to answering the above questions, this Transition Assessment training module will provide guidance on how to evaluate a transition assessment, what to avoid in a transition assessment, as well as guidance on how to improve your own transition assessments through the use of rubrics.  Attendees will also be given a parent letter and the Parent Transition Questionnaire that work together to explain the transition assessment process to parents and to get their input regarding their child's strengths, interests, and transition needs related to their postsecondary future.