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The Role of Assessments in Post-Secondary Education Success
The transition to post-secondary education brings new challenges and increased academic demands. At Randall Symes Psychological Services, our comprehensive assessments support students’ success during this crucial period.
April 14th 2025 / Assessments / By Randall Symes
Assessments Drive Post-Secondary Success
The transition to post secondary education represents a significant milestone in a student’s academic journey. This period brings new challenges, increased academic demands, and greater independence. While many students navigate this transition successfully, others encounter unexpected barriers that can impede their academic progress and overall well-being.
At Randall Symes Psychological Services, we’ve seen how comprehensive psychological assessments can play a crucial role in supporting post-secondary success for many students.
Understanding the Post-Secondary Landscape
Post-secondary education differs dramatically from high school in several important ways. Students face more rigorous academic expectations, less structured schedules, and greater responsibility for managing their own learning. Lectures may move at a faster pace, reading loads increase substantially, and assignments often require deeper critical thinking and independent research.
For students with previously unidentified learning differences, attention issues, or mental health challenges, these new demands can quickly become overwhelming. Even students who performed well in high school may struggle in this new environment if they have underlying difficulties that were previously compensated for by supportive teachers, parents, or school structures.
When Challenges Emerge in Post-Secondary Settings
Many students and parents are surprised when academic difficulties emerge for the first time in college or university. There are several reasons why learning challenges might become apparent only at the post-secondary level:
- The structured support systems of high school are no longer in place
- Academic demands become more complex and require greater executive functioning skills
- The volume of reading and writing increases dramatically
- The pace of instruction accelerates
- Self-advocacy becomes essential for accessing support
- Unexpectedly poor academic performance despite adequate effort
- Significant discrepancies between verbal abilities and written work
- Challenges with organization, time management, and meeting deadlines
- Excessive time required to complete reading assignments
- Persistent anxiety or stress related to academic performance
The Value of Psychological Assessments for Post-Secondary Students
Psychological assessments can provide invaluable insights for post-secondary students who are struggling academically or emotionally. These assessments go beyond simply identifying problems they offer a deeper understanding of a student’s unique learning profile, including both strengths and areas of challenge.
Clarifying the Nature of Difficulties
A thorough assessment can distinguish between various potential causes of academic struggle. Is a student having difficulty due to a Specific learning disability, ADHD, anxiety, depression, or perhaps a combination of factors? Understanding the root causes of academic challenges is essential for developing effective support strategies.
Identifying Strengths and Learning Styles
Assessments don’t just focus on weaknesses they also identify cognitive and academic strengths that can be leveraged in the learning process. Understanding one’s learning style and cognitive profile can help students develop more effective study strategies and build on their natural abilities.
Providing Documentation for Accommodations
Post-secondary institutions require formal documentation to provide academic accommodations. A psychological assessment can provide the necessary documentation to access supports such as:
- Extended time on exams
- Reduced distraction testing environments
- Note-taking assistance
- Access to assistive technologies
- Priority registration for courses
- Alternative format textbooks
These accommodations don’t give students an unfair advantage; rather, they level the playing field by removing barriers that would otherwise prevent students from demonstrating their true abilities and knowledge.
Empowering Self-Advocacy
Perhaps one of the most valuable outcomes of a psychological assessment is increased self-understanding. When students understand their learning profile, they can better advocate for themselves in academic settings. This self-knowledge allows them to explain their needs to professors, access appropriate campus resources, and implement effective learning strategies.
Components of a Comprehensive Post-Secondary Assessment
Cognitive Assessment
This examines various aspects of thinking and processing, including verbal reasoning, non-verbal reasoning, working memory, processing speed, and other cognitive abilities. Understanding these fundamental cognitive processes helps identify underlying strengths and weaknesses that may impact learning.
Executive Functioning Evaluation
Executive functions include skills such as planning, organization, time management, self-monitoring, and cognitive flexibility. These skills become increasingly important in post-secondary settings where students must manage complex schedules and assignments independently.
Attention and Concentration Measures
Various tasks and questionnaires help determine whether attention difficulties may be contributing to academic challenges.
Social-Emotional Assessment
Screening for anxiety, depression, and other emotional factors that may impact academic performance is an essential component of a comprehensive assessment.
Timing Considerations for Assessments
For students already experiencing difficulties in post-secondary education, the best time to seek an assessment is as soon as possible. Early intervention can prevent academic probation, unnecessary course withdrawals, and the erosion of self-confidence that often accompanies persistent struggle.
For students planning to attend post-secondary education who suspect they might have learning challenges, completing an assessment before beginning their program is ideal. This allows accommodations to be in place from day one, preventing initial struggles that might otherwise set a negative trajectory.
The Assessment Process at Randall Symes Psychological Services
Our comprehensive assessments for post-secondary students typically involve:
- An initial intake session to gather background information and understand the specific concerns
- Testing sessions that examine cognitive abilities, academic skills, attention, and other relevant areas
- A feedback session to explain the results in detail and discuss recommendations
- A comprehensive written report that can be submitted to the student's institution to request accommodations
Following the assessment, we also offer guidance in implementing recommendations and connecting with appropriate support services.
Investing in Long-Term Success
A psychological assessment represents an investment in not just immediate academic success, but long-term educational and career outcomes. The insights gained from an assessment extend beyond the post-secondary years, providing valuable self-knowledge that can inform career choices, workplace accommodations, and lifelong learning strategies.
If you or your student is struggling in a post-secondary program or planning to attend and concerned about potential challenges contact Randall Symes Psychological Services to learn more about our assessment services for post-secondary students. Our goal is to help every student access the supports they need to realize their full academic potential.
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