Evaluations, or "Ivchunim", are big business in Israel. The need for early recognition and intervention can not be stressed enough, but that is not within the scope of this article. This article is here to give parents a way to navigate the evaluation system in Israel. Just as you need to map out Ikea before you walk in, you need to have a map before entering the world of evaluations.
Within the field of education, there are 3 main types of Ivchunim: Psychological – Pseechologee Educational – Didacti Psycho-educational / Integrated –Psychodidacti / Meshulav
1. The professional evaluating your child
The psychologist
As many other things in Israel, fields of work are divided up into subfields. In psychology, a psychologist must have expertise (mumchiut) in a type of psychology. The idea is that one becomes super knowledgeable on one subtopic. The truth is that a professional will always be updating their knowledge and skill base and become certified on a post degree level. Psychologists who work with children can be: Developmental- works with ages 0-1st grade. Usually see children through the Health Funds.
Educational psychologists. - works with children from K-12. Can see children through the local municipal psychological dept (Sheirut Psichologit) or in a private clinic (machon).
Clinical – works with all ages. Can work with children in hospitals (in our out patient) or in a private clinic.
2. The educational evaluator An educational evaluator (me'avchenet didactit) is usually a teacher, thought not always, who has undergone special certification training in locating problems in language, perception, or memory. They work in Machonim or privately. Why do you need both? Because for many years psychologists did not study the inner workings of education as it is practiced in reality in the classroom and many times the evaluations were not helpful as to how to remediate a the struggling child.
3. Types of Evaluations The purpose of the ivchun in Israel varies with the child's age: Here's a concentrated breakdown:
Ages 0-K • Placement in a therapeutic nursery (Gan Tipulit)
• Obtainment of a therapeutic kindergarten teacher (Gannent Siach). This teacher provides a certain amount of treatment hours within the framework of a regular kindergarten. These services are in addition to any para-professional services that a child may be receiving through the health fund (kuppat c holim). •
Decision whether a child should repeat kindergarten Elementary School:
• Provision of remedial services (Hora'ah Metakenet) and /or, Inclusion Hours, (Shaot Shiluv).
• Granting of testing accommodations (Hatamot L'Mivchanim). These are also called Hakalot , or leniencies, but the Ministry of Ed. (Misrad Hachinuch) does not like this word. • Therapeutic recommendations for the classroom and the family.
• Recommendations for supplemental psychotherapies such as therapeutic horse riding (Rechiva Tipulit) Israelis, for the most part, don't get bilingualism or the interaction of other languages with Hebrew. For example, many Russian olim, or even their children, may struggle in Hebrew, but succeed in English. Finding a bi-cultural evaluator is not always possible so keep this in mind.
Jr. High and High School The main focus at this point in the education system is preparing the child for the matriculation exams (Mivchanei HaBagruyot). A certificate of matriculation (Teudat Bagrut Melah) is necessary to be accepted into university and to get most jobs. It is important to note that these exams are not easy and are not in tandem with the reality of the amount of material that is actually covered in the classroom. Children, who do well on these exams, without any help, are those with an above average IQ, a lot of motivation, ability to sit for long periods of time, and spit back copious amounts of material on to an exam paper.
Accommodations available:Extension of time Use of a calculator Use of an electronic dictionary for English Ignoring spelling mistakes when grading papers A list of mathematical formulas Reading of the questions Dictation of answers All of these require an educational evaluation only and only the approval of the school guidance counselor (Yoetzet). However, most kids will do the psycho-didacti because this report is then usually forwarded to the army and it looks better if the evaluation is more inclusive.
For children with more severe learning disabilities: Oral Examination Adjusted Examination (Or any other adjustment that the evaluator feels would serve the interests of the student). These require an ivchun psycho-didacti by law of Misrad Hachinuch. The evaluation, along with paperwork that is filled out by the yoetzet and the student him/herself, is sent to a committee (va'adah) of Misrad Hachinuch and they then approve (or not) of the recommendation. To this end, ivchunim for the purpose of obtaining testing accommodations are quite a racket in Israel. Many families are willing to pay for the "purchase" of hakalot and Misrad Hachinuch is aware of this. Therefore they are quite strict in the granting of the "larger" accommodations – Oral Examination and Adjusted Examination for Severely Learning Disabled.
A child may also be eligible for certain enrichment projects or other special projects if s/he has an evaluation. Other things to keep in mind It is important to remember that any and all recommendations made are just that: recommendations. They are not legally binding. A parent can not come to a teacher and demand anything! It is not a good idea to "wave" the evaluation in the teacher's face and expect that she will follow what is written down. The same advice holds true for dealings with the Yoetzet. (Sh! Just between us) Israel, on a large part, runs on what is known as "Protectzia". As an oleh, of course, you have none. So make your own! Smile broadly at every staff member in that school. Greet every one. You don't know who is connected to whom. If you hear that the teacher was sick, call her to wish her refuah shleima. You get the idea, schmooze and make connections. When speaking with any official authority, speak in a very respectful and even obsequious tone while you explain your individual situation. Once they "understand" you ("Ani Mevinah Otach"), you can then gently make your request. Israelis like to be merciful to those in need (Miscainim). There is a lot about being an Oleh and the Aliyah process that Israelis don't get, even those who work with Olim, unless they have made aliyah themselves.
Keep this in mind. The bottom line: An educational or psychological evaluation runs between 800-1500 shekel. A combined evaluation can run from 2000 up to 4000 shekel. Why the price differences? • Socio economic status (SES) of the cities. A professional will charge what the public is willing to pay. • Years of experience of the evaluator • Small differences in assessment tools used Please make sure that your child is treated as a whole and as an individual. If you want the report translated into English, it will cost extra. This is not really necessary because the evaluator will go over the written results and you can write down what they say. At worst, bring it to someone who has experience in this matter and they can explain anything else you do not understand.
Glossary of commonly used terms
תפקוד שכלי-cognitive functioning
רמת הנורמה-average level
ערוץ החזותי-visual channel
ערוץ השמעתי- auditory channel
קשב וריכוז- attention and concentration
תחום שפה-language domain
קריאה-reading
הבנת הנקרא-reading comp.
כתיבה-writing
הבעה-written expression
שגיאות כתיב-spelling errors
מנגנונים שפתיים-language mechanisms
מהירות שיום/שליפה – naming/retrieval speed
שטף מילולי-verbal fluency
שטף סמנטי-semantic fluency
מודעות פונולוגית-phonological awareness
ערנות תחבירית/מורפו תחבירית-syntactical/morphological awareness
תחום רגשי-emotional domain
מנגנון הגנה-defense mechanism
טווח הארוך-long term
טווח הקצר-short term
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