Education has had its fair share of disruption over the past two decades. Phenomena like the internet, smart devices, and ever smarter software applications, are exposing people to new ways of consuming information. These new channels are almost too many to mention as on-demand video, online colleges and even augmented reality push the boundaries of how we learn.

However, in a digital world, children can get lost in the ocean of information available to them right at their fingertips. For some, this can become a veritable information overload of sorts. Further, accessibility to digital outlets can make children less interested in traditional schooling methods, leaving them disconnected and impervious to school as a whole.

Understanding what your child needs from an educational perspective

For parents, assessing their child’s learning requirements from an early age is critical to understanding what they can do to give him or her the best chance of academic success. Children who suffer from learning disabilities, for example, are often diagnosed fairly late in their schooling years, causing unnecessary difficulty in assimilating to school environments and learning materials.

Why exams are not appropriate for learning assessment

While some would argue that exams are indeed a form of assessing students’ learning abilities, test environments can, in fact, place students with learning challenges under undue pressure. Early assessments of children’s cognitive, comprehension and articulation abilities can help to place them on appropriate learning paths that remove pressure to keep up with their peers or facing the ridicule of insensitive classmates.

What is a special educational need?

Learning challenges come in many forms. While children with special educational needs are often just as, or even smarter, than their peers, they may suffer from challenges in recalling information, reading, writing, spelling or reasoning. However, advances in educational approaches can and do go a long way in placing children with learning challenges on an even footing with their peers.

Dyslexia is a prime example of a learning challenge that can impede even the smartest mind from expressing itself clearly, comprehensively and concisely. To this end, learning assessments can help identify challenges of this kind and aid in getting children the support they need. The right intervention at the right time can help students move beyond obstacles to learning and better express their cognition of the world around them.

Learning assessments for gifted children

Assessments can be highly beneficial to children with outstanding abilities as well. Most assessments today are developed to identify students who are gifted with outstanding abilities and can thus be a catalyst towards such a child getting the appropriate support he or she needs.

Here’s why you should consider arranging an initial learning assessment for your child:

• To assess their learning potential and thus adapting to their capabilities and providing a more personalised approach to materials and concepts.
• To understand how individual children learn and process information and getting a better understanding of their strengths and weaknesses.
• To identify difficulties with reading, writing, maths or attention and to also assess whether a child is gifted in any area and providing the appropriate support.
• To develop learning strategies and types of support that may help them overcome challenges that may be hindering an otherwise star student.
• To help them gain better insight into their own abilities and giving them a platform from which to express their concerns/frustrations/fears/ambitions.
• To give parents insight to their children’s weak and strong points and alerting them to what they can do to support their children in the best way possible.

Contact Boost Education for an initial learning assessment for your child

Boost Education offers parents free learning assessments for their children at all of our tuition centres. Our student assessments are designed to help identify any challenges your child may have in attaining his or her best at school. We advise parents to contact us if they feel their child may be having difficulty in grasping what is being taught to them at school.

Our assessments can also help to identify children with outstanding abilities and help parents find the appropriate channels to giving their child the support he or she needs. To book your free assessment at your nearest Boost Education centre, simply click this link and book your spot today.