A student working through a learning activity during an educational assessment

Evaluations

Psychoeducational assessments

You know your child better than anyone. If school has started to feel confusing, grades slipping, focus that won't hold, reading that takes too much effort, or meetings that go nowhere, trust your instincts.

A psychoeducational assessment is how Crescent helps families get a fuller picture of how a child learns, and a plan you can actually use. We start with your child. We look at how they are functioning at home and at school, gather what the question calls for, and turn the results into next steps you can act on.

This is that shared evaluation. ADHD and executive-functioning questions, dyslexia and other learning-disorder questions, IQ testing, a Functional Behavioral Assessment (FBA), and a Special Circumstances Instructional Assessment (SCIA) are parts of this work. They are not separate websites.

Areas this assessment covers: ADHD, learning disabilities, giftedness, twice exceptional, and IQ.

If the question is autism, that is a different evaluation. If you need an Independent Educational Evaluation (IEE), an evaluation independent of the school district, that is a different page too.

Book a free consultation Or tell us what’s happening

What this is

More than one kind of information.

A psychoeducational assessment brings together more than one kind of information about learning and school functioning. Depending on the question, that can include history, records, interviews, observation, and formal measures.

More testing is not automatically better. The right information is the information needed to answer the question carefully.

Scores can describe how a child performed under particular conditions. They do not, by themselves, explain a child's full experience. A careful interpretation looks for patterns, considers home and school context, and says plainly what is known and what is still uncertain.

The written report should answer the referral question, separate evidence from interpretation, and give you language you can take into the next conversation, including an Individualized Education Program (IEP) meeting or a Section 504 plan discussion, when that is the decision in front of you.

Autism evaluation is not folded into this page. If that is the question, go to autism evaluation.

ADHD / executive-functioning assessment

This part of the evaluation looks at how a child manages focus, impulse control, organization, planning, and follow-through. It asks how those patterns show up at home and at school, and what else might be getting in the way of attention and self-regulation.

It is for families who keep seeing the same friction around starting work, staying with it, or finishing it, and who want a careful look rather than a label from a webpage.

If you are trying to tell whether this sounds like your child, start with ADHD. That page is the “is this me” orientation. This is the evaluation.

Dyslexia / learning-disorder assessment

This part of the evaluation looks at how a child learns academic skills, especially reading, spelling, and writing, and how that compares with other areas of thinking and school functioning.

It is for families who notice that reading or written work is much harder than it “should” be given what they know about their child, or who have been asked to consider a learning-disorder question.

If you are still in the “is this me” stage, read dyslexia. Come here when you want the assessment itself.

IQ testing

IQ testing looks at how a child reasons, solves problems, remembers information, and uses language under test conditions. It can help describe how a child thinks and learns. It is one source of information. It is not a full picture of a child, and it does not decide school placement.

It is for families, or school teams working with families, who need a cognitive profile as part of a larger learning question, not as a standalone verdict.

Functional Behavioral Assessment (FBA)

A Functional Behavioral Assessment (FBA) is a structured way to understand what a behavior is communicating. It looks at when the behavior happens, what happens around it, and what purpose it may serve for the child. That understanding can inform supports at school and at home.

It is for families when a behavior is getting in the way of learning, safety, or participation, and a fuller picture of the pattern would help the next conversation. Reading about behavior does not diagnose a child, and Crescent does not speak for a district.

Special Circumstances Instructional Assessment (SCIA)

A Special Circumstances Instructional Assessment (SCIA) is a focused look at how a child is learning in the classroom, especially when progress has stalled or the usual interventions are not helping. It is not a full special-education eligibility evaluation. It is meant to produce practical instructional recommendations.

It is for families and school teams who need a closer look at instruction and support right now, without treating this page as a substitute for a fuller psychoeducational assessment when that fuller question is the one being asked.

Who it's for

When a school question needs a careful look.

This is for parents of school-aged children, often the parent who has been carrying the worry, when a learning, attention, behavior, or school-planning question needs a careful look.

You might be here because:

School feels harder than it used to, and you are not sure why.
You have questions about attention, reading, or how your child thinks and learns.
A behavior at school is not making sense, and you want it understood rather than argued about.
An IEP or 504 conversation is coming, and you want information that actually answers the question.

You do not need the right clinical words to start.

This page is not for deciding a diagnosis from a list of signs. Condition pages exist for that first “does this sound familiar?” step: ADHD, dyslexia, and the rest of what we treat.

If the unresolved question is whether an evaluation independent of the district is the right next step, use Independent Educational Evaluation. If the question is autism, use autism evaluation.

What to expect

What the work looks like.

1
Start with the situation, not a stack of records.
Tell us what's happening. Do not send school files, medical records, or evaluation reports through the public contact form. If records are needed later, we will tell you how to share them securely.
2
We define the question together.
Every evaluation starts with your child rather than a checklist. We look at how they are actually functioning at home and at school, and we test for what the questions call for.
3
Information is gathered to fit that question.
That can include history, interviews, observation, and formal measures. The mix depends on what we are trying to understand. We do not add instruments for their own sake.
4
You receive a written explanation you can use.
The goal is a profile of your child you actually understand, and next steps you can act on. Not a rubber stamp, and not a promise about what a school team will decide.

This page cannot tell you, in advance, how many sessions a particular child will need or how long a report will take. Those details belong in the conversation about your child.

Approach

Warmth and care matter here. So does precision.

We treat your observations as part of the question, not as noise around it. You have been watching this child for years. That information belongs in the room.

We also name limits. An assessment can answer some questions and leave others open. A useful report says which is which. Recommendations should connect to the findings, not arrive as a generic list.

Crescent does not use this work to take a side against a school district or to act as an advocate. Independence depends on staying even. We are here to understand your child and to give you answers you can carry into the next meeting.

Who provides this

Marcia Miller

Psychoeducational assessments at Crescent are provided by Marcia Miller, Licensed Educational Psychologist.

You’ll work directly with the person handling your child’s evaluation.

By appointment

Crescent sees families by appointment, serving California's Central Valley and Central Coast. In person in Fresno, Madera, Merced, Santa Cruz, Monterey, and San Benito Counties. Virtual throughout California. We do not publish a street address.

The first step is a conversation, not a self-booked full evaluation. Use the contact page. Keep that first message simple: who you are, how to reach you, and a short sense of what is going on. Save records for a secure follow-up if we ask for them.

Exact format (which parts happen in person), scheduling, and timing are confirmed when we talk. This page does not list hours or promise a start date.

Fees / insurance

Discussed when we talk

Fees are discussed when we talk. This page does not list prices.

Insurance billing, network status, and superbills are not described here. If those questions matter for your family, ask them in that first conversation.

Sitewide Good Faith Estimate / No Surprises Act information is linked from the footer.

Scope is worked out on the consultation call. After that call you receive a Good Faith Estimate in writing that names the areas to be assessed and what the work involves, before anything is scheduled.

Common questions

Asked before, answered plainly.

Is a psychoeducational assessment the same as an IEE?

No. A psychoeducational assessment is the evaluation family described here. An Independent Educational Evaluation (IEE) is an evaluation independent of the school district, with its own context and next-step questions. If that is the job you are trying to do, go to Independent Educational Evaluation.

Do you evaluate autism here?

Not here. Autism evaluation is a separate service leaf, because the question, process, and methods are different. See autism evaluation. Do not treat this page as an ADOS or dual-observation pathway.

How do I know which section applies: ADHD, dyslexia, IQ, FBA, or SCIA?

You do not have to choose perfectly from a website. Those names are sections of one evaluation page because they often share the same family, intake, and process. Tell us what's happening. We will help sort which questions belong in the assessment. Nothing here runs a quiz or diagnoses your child.

Will this assessment diagnose my child?

No website diagnoses anyone. An evaluation may address a question a family or school is asking. What it can conclude depends on the child, the question, the information gathered, and the evaluator's scope. We will not promise a particular label, eligibility finding, or school outcome.

Do you work for the school district?

No. Crescent is an independent practice. We stay district-neutral. That is part of doing this work carefully. We do not campaign for or against a district, and we do not offer advocacy.

What should I do before we talk?

Write down, privately, what you have noticed and what you want the next conversation to answer. Keep records you already have. You do not need to mail them in to start. If you want help organizing observations first, the condition pages under what we treat are for that “is this me” step.

Evaluations

Sibling evaluations

“Is this me” condition pages

Practice

Start with a conversation

Restore your peace.

You do not have to carry this by yourself.

Tell us what’s happening, and let’s figure it out together.

Book a free consultation Or tell us what’s happening

Prefer to talk? Call or text (559) 287‑8351.

Marcia Lynn Miller, LEP #3015 · Independent practice

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