Some Reflections on Psychological Assessment for Early Intervention in Developing Countries with Special Reference to Zambia

Abstract

Clinicians and educators must assess functioning levels of children with various special educational needs for diagnostic, placement and remedial purposes. There is no doubt that subsequent programming efforts and perceptions of the individual’s capacities are greatly influenced by assessment results, coupled with other sources of valuable information available which must be effectively utilized. In this direction, assessors must be aware of their responsibility to carefully provide accurate, descriptive, and thorough evaluations following the ethical practices of their professions and the procedures outlined in test manuals. This paper seeks to define assessment in Special Education. The goals and methods of assessment are presented and discussed with special reference to Zambia. The relevance of western oriented assessment tools to developing countries is summarized and recommendation are made.