Updated February 2026
If you’re considering educational assessments for your child, you’re likely searching for clarity. Maybe something feels off academically. Maybe your child is working hard but not making expected progress. Or maybe you simply want a clearer understanding of how your child learns.
While there are many reasons families pursue learning assessments, here are four of the most important.
Learning assessments provide clarity about how your child learns, not just how they perform. A comprehensive educational assessment identifies academic strengths, pinpoints skill gaps, and offers actionable next steps so families and teachers can support students with confidence.
In this guide, you’ll learn:
By the end of this article, you’ll understand how educational assessments replace guesswork with strategy and give families a clear roadmap for supporting their child’s academic growth.
Tests don’t have to be a living nightmare for students. While tests provide students, parents, and teachers with valuable information about their current learning gaps, they don’t just provide that. High-quality educational assessments provide a clear picture of a student’s strengths. It reveals what they are doing well, highlighting their areas of competence and proficiency.
We can no longer overlook our students’ strengths just to rush to their weaknesses and what they need to work on. Learning is hard, and students need all of the positive reinforcement and praise they can get. Educational assessments provide positive feedback for students, revealing to them what they have learned and mastered.
Educational assessments provide positive feedback for students, revealing to them what they have yet to learn and master. It takes some serious growth mindset work for students to respond to this well, but having clarity over a student’s weaknesses and learning gaps is of critical importance.
Once you know a student’s learning gaps, parents and teachers can partner together to help support their student. Instead of guessing as to what a student might be struggling with or a strategy that may work, educational assessments provide clear feedback with actionable next steps and valuable information.
Many parents are left in the dark about their child’s academic progress, but even more parents are without any guidance as to how to best support their child at home. Sure, parents see homework that comes and goes, but have you seen how they teach math now?!
It’s not enough to know the 23 skills your student is not yet proficient in. Parents need (and deserve) to have access to evidence-based strategies that work in supporting their child to reach their full potential. That’s exactly what educational assessments do. With a wealth of actionable next steps and valuable information, parents can sincerely help (and feel like they are helping!) their child in their academics.
Students take countless tests, but they rarely get any timely, relevant feedback.
Far too often, a student’s test results either aren’t shared with them or the results are shared in a way where the student doesn’t understand the relevance of their results. The same goes for parents: everyone knows students take standardized tests throughout their schooling career, but what good do the results do months after the day they took the test?
Comprehensive educational assessments provide timely, relevant feedback. This helps parents to advocate for their students at school; this helps teachers know how to best support their students; this helps students be aware of their academic progress, helping them to take more ownership and responsibility for their education.
You don’t have to be in the fog about your child’s academic progress. Schedule your child’s free consultation today!
A learning assessment is a comprehensive evaluation that identifies a student’s academic strengths, skill gaps, and learning profile. It examines areas such as reading, writing, math, processing skills, and executive functioning to provide clear next steps for support.
You should consider a learning assessment if your child is struggling despite effort, showing inconsistent academic performance, avoiding schoolwork, or working significantly harder than peers. Early assessment helps prevent learning gaps from widening.
School testing typically determines eligibility for special education services. A private learning assessment often provides more detailed insight into strengths, weaknesses, and targeted recommendations for intervention, tutoring, or accommodations.
The cost of a learning assessment in the Denver Metro area varies depending on the scope of testing and the evaluator’s credentials. Comprehensive assessments may range from several hundred to several thousand dollars depending on what is included.
Families from Denver to Colorado Springs can pursue a learning assessment through licensed psychologists or specialized educational providers. Some providers may also offer virtual assessment options depending on the type of testing needed.
Brian Allender is the founder of Strive Learning Solutions, a specialized tutoring company focused on supporting neurodivergent students, including those with learning disabilities, dyslexia, ADHD, and autism. Strive Learning Solutions provides highly personalized, expert instruction to build both academic skills and confidence. With nearly a decade of experience working with neurodivergent students across all grade levels, Brian leads a team committed to empowering students to make meaningful, lasting progress.
