Assess

At Pencil & Pathways, we offer a full range of psychoeducational, behavioral, and speech and language assessments to support public, private, and charter schools across Texas. Our evaluations encompass cognitive processing, academic skills, language, social-emotional development, and behavior, providing detailed profiles that illuminate each student’s learning strengths, challenges, and educational needs.

Whether you're seeking an independent educational evaluation (IEE), clarity on learning differences, special education eligibility, or academic supports, our thorough evaluation process delivers actionable insights tailored to each child and school environment.

Psychoeducational Evaluations

A psychoeducational evaluation, including Independent Educational Evaluations (IEEs), helps identify a student’s unique learning profile—including their strengths, challenges, and how their brain processes information. These evaluations can clarify whether a student has a learning disability, qualifies for special education, or may benefit from accommodations and modifications in the classroom.

Learning disabilities often impact reading, writing, math, or language skills, even when students have strong cognitive abilities and appropriate instruction. Reading-based learning disabilities are the most common, and may include difficulty with phonemic awareness, decoding, fluency, and reading comprehension.

Because learning is complex, a thorough evaluation may assess cognitive abilities, academic achievement, executive functioning, behavioral and emotional development, and processing skills.

Functional Behavior Assessments (FBA)

When students struggle with challenging behaviors at school, a Functional Behavior Assessment (FBA) can help identify what’s driving those behaviors. Behavior always serves a purpose—whether to gain attention, avoid a task, or meet another need—and understanding that function is the first step toward change.

Using observation, interviews, and data collection, we work collaboratively with families and school teams to identify behavior patterns and develop a Behavior Intervention Plan (BIP). The goal of a BIP is to teach and reinforce appropriate behaviors, while reducing behaviors that interfere with learning or relationships.

If your child frequently gets into trouble at school, an FBA can provide valuable insight and a path forward.

Speech & Language Evaluations

A Comprehensive Language Assessment evaluates a student’s communication abilities to determine if a speech or language disorder is impacting their success at school, at home, or in the community.

These evaluations assess:

  • Expressive Language (vocabulary, sentence structure, grammar)

  • Receptive Language (listening comprehension, following directions)

  • Pragmatic Language (social communication skills—often relevant in autism evaluations)

We also offer Basic Language Assessments focused on specific concerns such as articulation, fluency, voice, or pragmatic language skills. These are often used to support targeted questions or informal concerns about a student’s communication.