ABSTRACT
This chapter describes the current ethos underlying assessment of special educational needs and provides an outline of the historical context of recent developments, including the influence of the 1981 Education Act. People have now outlined the current ethos underlying assessment of special educational needs: the much wider focus, the environmental model of assessment, the principles of integration, the close link between assessment and intervention, and the central role played by parents, teachers, and the pupils themselves. As described in the historical overview, curriculum-based assessment has gained in popularity over the last ten years. They have now outlined the ethos and legislative underpinnings of the assessment of special educational needs in England and Wales. Formal assessment is lengthy and multi-disciplinary. The local authority collates written advice from parents, the school, any specialist teachers who have been working with the child during the period of informal assessment. The final part of the chapter discusses some key issues in assessment.
