Formal Assessment                                                                    

1. A formal assessment is a standardized method for testing how well a student has learned the material  that has been taught.   For instance an exam or standardized test.                                           

Informal Assessment                                                  

1. Informal assessment involves observing the learners as they learn and evaluating them from the data gathered. While a formal exam may be a written exam an informal can be through observation or other means.                

1. The time, usually a number of weeks, immediately before and after birth.                           

1. Acronym for The Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule (ADOS) This is an assessment of communication, social interaction, and play (or imaginative use of materials) for individuals suspected of having autism or other pervasive developmental disorders

1. the evaluation or investigation of something as part of a methodical survey, to assess autism.

1. a mental condition, present from early childhood, characterized by difficulty in communicating and forming relationships with other people and in using language and abstract concepts

1. Asperger syndrome is a lifelong brain development disorder that leads to problems with social skills, behavior, and coordination. The signs and symptoms of Asperger syndrome can be mild to severe. Your child's condition may not be diagnosed until he is in preschool, because his speech and development may be normal in other ways

1. Rett syndrome is a rare neurodevelopmental disorder that affects the growth and development of the brain. It occurs in childhood-almost exclusively in girls-and its effects on brain development can cause variable and cascading consequences in areas such as muscle development, walking and communication.

1. Childhood disintegrative disorder is also known as Heller's syndrome. It's a very rare condition in which children develop normally until at least two years of age, but then demonstrate a severe loss of social, communication and other skills

1. The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) is a four part (A-D) piece of American legislation that ensures students with a disability are provided with Free Appropriate Public Education (FAPE) that is tailored to their individual needs

1. The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (DSM-5) is the 2013 update to the American Psychiatric Association's (APA) classification and diagnostic tool. In the United States the DSM serves as a universal authority for psychiatric diagnosis.

1. Functional behavioral assessment (FBA) is a variation on procedures originally developed to ascertain the purpose or reason for behaviors displayed by individuals with severe cognitive or communication disabilities (e.g., individuals with mental retardation or autism).

1. The goal of formative assessment is to monitor student learning to provide ongoing feedback that can be used by instructors to improve their teaching and by students to improve their learning.

1. using a comparison of a pupil's performance in a test with the performance of other children in the same test

1. A criterion-referenced test is many of the one ring that provides for translating test scores into a statement about the behavior to be expected of a person with that score or their relationship to a specified subject matter

1. Comprehensive assessment entails the whole system of assessing student understanding as a mechanism to improve teaching and learning. Teachers use multiple strategies to gather and share information about what students understand and to identify where they may be struggling