I recently attended a professional development webinar presented by Dr Amanda Webster on assessment and data-based decision making in disability practice.

Assessment Is a Process, Not Just a Test

One of the first things Amanda said was:

“Assessment is a process, not just a test.”

For some reason, that simple statement reassured me and stuck with me throughout the entire session.

There is something about the word test that has always felt a little rigid to me, whereas the word process feels more flexible, collaborative, and open.

When many people hear the word assessment, they often think about questionnaires, standardised tools, reports, scores, funding applications, or formal evaluations.

While those things can certainly be part of assessment, Amanda reminded us that assessment is much broader than that.

Assessment is really an ongoing process of gathering information, interpreting what that information means, making decisions, and then evaluating whether those decisions are actually helping the person in a meaningful way.

It is also about understanding the purpose of assessments completed by other professionals, whether that information is still relevant, and whether it aligns with the goals and priorities of the participant you are supporting.

What particularly resonated with me was the idea that assessment should influence what we do, not simply document what we already think.

Amanda shared research involving schools, parents, and allied health professionals that found one of the least influential factors in decision-making was often the assessment data itself, particularly formal standardised assessments on their own.

While that isn’t entirely surprising, it highlights an important point.

Sometimes professionals collect information because they know they should, but the decisions they make can still be influenced by assumptions, habits, or previous beliefs before they have fully engaged with the information they have gathered.

In other words, we can sometimes decide what we think the answer is before we’ve properly looked at the evidence.

(And if I’m being honest, I suspect most professionals have probably caught themselves doing this at some point.)

One quote that really stuck with me was:

“Don’t pick an assessment tool before figuring out what you’re trying to learn.”

As Developmental Educators, it can be tempting to jump straight into selecting a questionnaire, rating scale, or assessment tool that we may already be familiar with.

However, the more important question is often:

“What am I actually trying to find out for this particular participant?”

This reminded me of a participant whose NDIS goal was generally described as emotional regulation.

On the surface, that seemed relatively straightforward.

However, the more we explored the goal together, the more it became about understanding different perspectives, feeling comfortable enough to share his own perspective, and learning ways to connect with other people that were positive rather than hurtful.

Through conversations, it became clear that he wanted connection, acceptance, and respect from others. However, some of the messages and influences around him had contributed to a belief that being tough, intimidating, or acting aggressively was how those things were achieved.

What initially appeared to be a goal about emotional regulation revealed several underlying factors relating to relationships, communication, belonging, and social learning.

For me, this reinforced the idea that assessment is often less about finding answers quickly and more about understanding the person more deeply.

Amanda emphasised that having a clear purpose should always come before selecting a method of assessment.

Looking Beyond the Individual

The webinar also reinforced something that aligns strongly with Developmental Education and person-centred practice more broadly.

Assessment should not simply focus on deficits.

It should also help us understand strengths, aspirations, participation, environments, opportunities, and the person’s own perspective.

Several reminders and principles discussed throughout the webinar resonated with me and aligned closely with the way I try to approach my own practice:

The person is the expert in their own life.
Assessment should support self-determination.
We need to consider environmental barriers, not just individual challenges.
Participants should be involved in assessment wherever possible.

Another question Amanda encouraged us to consider was:

“Is this actually a problem for the person, or do we need to change something around them?”

I found this particularly relevant.

Sometimes what appears to be a participant challenge may actually reflect environmental barriers, inaccessible systems, limited opportunities, or expectations that simply don’t fit the individual.

This also made me think about participants I have supported who were interested in volunteering or employment opportunities but became discouraged by the systems surrounding them.

Sometimes the challenge was not motivation or willingness to participate.

Instead, barriers existed in the way opportunities were advertised, accessed, or communicated.

In those situations, finding the right environment can be just as important as supporting the individual themselves.

Shifting your thinking in this way can completely change the direction of your assessment and where you focus your attention.

Another example that came to mind was a participant whose goal was to increase school attendance and build confidence and self-esteem.

At first glance, it would have been easy to focus directly on attendance.

However, the more we explored the situation, the more it became apparent that safety and trusting relationships were the real priorities.

Experiences of bullying had significantly impacted their confidence and willingness to attend school.

Before focusing on attendance itself, we needed to focus on helping them feel safe, supported, and connected to adults they trusted.

For me, that was another reminder that assessment is often about identifying the barriers underneath the barrier.

What Counts as Meaningful Progress?

Another practical takeaway was the importance of establishing baseline measures.

Amanda reminded us:

“If we can’t measure baseline, we can’t measure progress against it.”

What I appreciated was that she also highlighted that baseline information doesn’t always require lengthy formal assessments.

It can come from observations, interviews, participant feedback, structured data collection, rating scales, and everyday interactions.

Many of these methods can also be adapted or customised to suit the person and the information you are trying to gather.

I particularly appreciated hearing more about social validity.

Social validity asks whether the support is actually making a meaningful difference to the person receiving it.

The discussion around social validity also prompted me to reflect on how goals can sometimes look different on paper compared to real life.

For example, emotional regulation is a common goal area. However, not every participant wants to spend their time talking about emotions directly.

Sometimes what matters most to them is having space to debrief about their day, connect with somebody they trust, participate in an activity they enjoy, or simply have time to relax and feel heard.

Those experiences may not always look like traditional skill-building, but they can still be highly meaningful and contribute to a person’s wellbeing and development.

Sometimes as professionals we can become focused on goals, outcomes, and interventions without stopping to ask the person whether those things matter, or still matter, to them.

Amanda discussed how even young children and people with intellectual disability can provide meaningful feedback through visual scales, photos, supported conversations, thumbs up/down responses, and other accessible approaches.

Sometimes we simply need to be more flexible and creative about how we gather that feedback.

Assessment in Everyday Practice

Another point I found valuable was the reminder that no single assessment tells the whole story.

Assessment is rarely about finding one perfect tool.

Instead, it involves bringing together multiple sources of information and looking for patterns.

Things to consider may include:

Observations
Participant perspectives
Family feedback
Professional judgement
Research evidence
Formal assessments
Informal assessments

All of these contribute pieces to a much larger picture.

As Amanda put it:

“Trust informal evidence.”

That doesn’t mean ignoring research or formal assessment.

It means recognising that lived experience, observations, professional judgement, and participant perspectives are legitimate and often essential sources of information that complement formal assessment.

My biggest takeaway from the session is that assessment shouldn’t be something we only think about when writing reports, completing funding applications, or preparing for reviews.

It should be embedded into everyday practice.

Not because we need more paperwork.

But because we need better information and evidence-informed decision making to help us understand whether what we are doing is actually making a meaningful difference.

I also wanted to touch briefly on the time it can take to collect, organise, and use assessment data in a meaningful way.

One of the findings Amanda discussed was that professionals often report not having enough time to engage with assessment information as thoroughly as they would like.

To be honest, I can understand why.

Good assessment takes time.

Good reflection takes time.

And good decision-making takes time.

While assessment doesn’t always need to be lengthy or complicated, it does require systems, resources, support, and opportunities for practitioners to engage with information in a meaningful way.

If organisations want quality assessment and evidence-informed practice, then practitioners also need access to the tools, training, time, and support required to do that well.

I think this is sometimes overlooked.

It can be easy to tell professionals to collect more information, review more data, or evaluate outcomes more regularly. However, if the systems around them don’t support those expectations, it can contribute to stress, burnout, and increasing administrative demands.

For me, this highlighted that quality assessment is not only an individual responsibility. It is also something that organisations and systems need to actively support.

Ultimately, good assessment isn’t about collecting more data.

As Amanda put it:

“It’s about collecting the right information, for the right purpose, and using it to make better decisions alongside the people we support.”

Further Resources

For anyone interested in exploring some of the topics discussed during the webinar, Amanda shared a number of useful resources. Two that particularly stood out to me were:

Autism Friendly Communities https://www.autismfriendlycommunities.com/ – resources and practical tools that explore how autistic people experience and interact with different environments, along with strategies for creating more accessible and inclusive communities.
Autism CRC Employment Resources https://www.autismcrc.com.au/ – evidence-based resources relating to employment, employability, and workplace participation for autistic individuals.

Both are worth exploring if you are interested in better understanding environmental barriers, participation, inclusion, and person-centred approaches to support.

Assessment and Data-Based Decision Making: More Than Just a Test