Age-Appropriate Transition Assessments

Age-appropriate transition assessments are the evidence base for every postsecondary goal in the IEP. Alabama requires a minimum of two assessments, with the name of each assessment and the date it was administered documented for each long-term goal area. The assessments listed in the IEP must match the assessments actually administered and kept in the student's file.

• 34 CFR §300.320(b), postsecondary goals based on age-appropriate transition assessments  https://sites.ed.gov/idea/regs/b/d/300.320 

• Alabama Administrative Code, Rule 290-8-9-.05 IEP transition provisions

What counts as a transition assessment.   Formal and informal methods both qualify: interest inventories, learning profiles, career aptitude or career awareness measures, vocational assessments, student portfolios, student interviews, parent interviews, and student surveys, among others. Situational assessments (observing the student in actual work, community, or classroom settings) provide especially useful evidence of employability and independent living skills.

Match assessments to goal areas.  The student's long-term goals fall in three areas: Postsecondary Education/Training, Employment/Occupation/Career, and Community/Independent Living. The assessments used to determine each goal must be identified with the administration date. A single interest inventory does not support goals in all three areas.

Use the results, not the labels.   Summarize what the assessments revealed about the student's strengths, preferences, interests, and needs. Goals written without assessment results behind them are the most common transition error found in monitoring.

Reassess annually.   Because postsecondary goals must be updated annually, plan at least one assessment activity each year so the update reflects current information rather than a carry-over from a previous IEP.

• Administer and document a minimum of two assessments for the goal areas.

• Record each assessment's name and administration date in the IEP.

• File completed assessment documentation in the student's record.

• Describe the results in the present levels and connect them to each postsecondary goal.

• Listing an assessment in the IEP that was never administered or documented

• One assessment used to justify goals in all three areas

• Goals copied from a prior IEP without current assessment information

• Assessment results summarized but never linked to the goals they support

SES Policies and Procedures  https://www.alabamaachieves.org/special-education/policies-and-procedures/: Mastering the Maze, IEP Transition page, Age-Appropriate Transition Assessments section. The National Technical Assistance Center on Transition  NTACT  https://transitionta.org/  publishes transition assessment and evidence-based practice resources.