Diagnostic Testing

The “basics”

Learning disability testing is conducted when a student has a question about how they learn, why certain tasks are harder than others, if they have a learning disability, how to maximize their learning strengths, and other academic-related learning questions. This type of testing may also be called “diagnostic testing,” “psychoeducational testing”, or “educational testing”. This type of testing is conducted by a licensed professional, usually a psychologist, and consists of several different tests that look at memory, processing, verbal/non-verbal abilities, writing, visual tasks, attention/focus, reading, and other skills needed for academic tasks. You will sit in a private room with the tester, who will guide you through a series of tasks, some of which are timed, some are written, some are oral, some are visual.

Psychoeducational testing is generally conducted in two, three-hour sessions, or up to 6-8 hours. It’s intense! Sometimes the tester might ask you to come back for additional sessions if they would like to investigate something further. After the testing is complete, the tester compiles the results and related recommendations in a report. This can take a few weeks. Then you meet with the tester to go over the results in a “feedback session”, and decide on what the next steps might be. A great next step would be to provide your documentation to Student Support Services and schedule a follow up appointment

This varies by the provider, and can also depend upon your health insurance. Some students may have health insurance that covers a portion of the cost. Testing can cost between $1500-$3500. Please see the listing below of a few resources we have found in the Portland area. You may also work with a licensed professional of your choice in your hometown or elsewhere. Please make an appointment to talk with Student Support Services staff if you have further questions about payment, cost, and/or insurance. If cost is a barrier for you in moving forward with testing, please come talk to us—we may have resources to assist you.

The report will describe each test in detail, will include raw scores and percentiles, and will compare your results from each section. It will include a summary of findings and recommendations for what to do next. It may or may not include a diagnosis and/or recommendations for accommodations.

After you go through the feedback session with the tester, or if you have test results from another provider, you will talk with the Office of Student Accessibility staff about the recommendations, what you feel are your strengths and weaknesses, and what, if any, accommodations would be appropriate. the Office of Student Accessibility staff are able to help you interpret psychoeducational testing results from your report, and will collaborate with you to determine the next steps.

You can meet with the Office of Student Accessibility staff to discuss your report. You might create an “Accommodations Letter”, which will be sent to the professors of your choice each semester to give them a heads-up on your strengths and weaknesses, and any accommodations you are eligible for. You also might connect with the Office of Student Accessibility and other resources on campus, so you can work on specific skills outlined in your testing that are difficult areas for you. You might take steps to learn more about your learning style, such as meeting with the Office of Student Accessibility staff about tips and strategies for maximizing your learning strengths. You might choose to work with a counselor or therapist, on- or off-campus. You may also share your results with your professors, so they can help provide tips on maximizing your learning strengths in their class. What happens with the information from the report is totally up to you, and we hold high standards of confidentiality with your information and do not share anything unless you have requested us to do so in writing.

Depending upon a variety of individual factors, including when your testing was conducted, the thoroughness of the testing and/or report, and/or the nature of the data gathered from your last testing, the Office of Student Accessibility may ask you for updated testing. This will help staff in making sure accommodations fit your current academic needs. It’s important to talk with the Office of Student Accessibility if you have questions about getting updated testing. The law requires documentation to be “current”. If you want accommodations for standardized tests, such as the GRE, LSAT, or MCAT, their requirements are quite strict regarding what they will accept as testing documentation. We have links on our website that will take you to the requirements for many of the common standardized tests.

Testing resources in Portland