The Individuals with Disabilities Act (IDEA) of 1990 instituted a transition mandate for students receiving special education services.  IDEA 2004 expanded on this to include planning across all areas including community participation, independent living, and continuing education. The Transition Planning Inventory, now in its 3rd edition, was designed to address these mandates. As described in the TPI-3 Administration and Resource Guide, the primary purpose of the TPI-3 is “to assess the transition needs, strengths, preferences, and interest of students at the secondary level” (Patton & Clark, 2021, 14*)   The domains covered within the TPI-3 are working, learning, & living. 

Information is gathered from:

Core Rating Forms 

• Three forms (Student, Home, and School) Each form contains 57 statements related to transition planning.
• Each form is organized according to 11 planning areas; Career Choice & Planning, Employment Knowledge & Skills, Post Secondary Training/ Education, Functional Communication, Self Determination, Independent Living, Personal Money Management, Community Involvement & Usage, Leisure and Recreation, Health, & Social/Interpersonal Relationships.

Preference &  Interest Forms

• Intended to gather information about a students preference and interest
• Two versions available; basic (intended to be used early in the transition process) and advanced (intendended to be administered when a student is close to leaving school).
• An optional Home Preference and Interest Form is also available.

Information is compiled through:

Profile & Further Assessment Recommendation Form

• All information is summarized on this form consisting of 6 sections; 1.) general information, 2.) likely setting for postsecondary outcomes, 3.) student’s preference, interests, and strengths, 4.) results of other assessments, 5.) student profile, 6.) further assessment and information.

Summary of Performance Data

• The purpose of this form is to give users a quick and easy way to compile the information required by IDEA into a Summary of Performance (SOP) document.  

Overall, the TPI-3 provides a comprehensive means to gather key information from all major players in order to create and implement a meaningful transition plan.

*Patton, J. R., & Clark, G. M. (2021). Transition Planning Inventory Administration and Resource Guide (3rd ed.). Pro-Ed.

The Peabody Developmental Motor Scales Test-Second Edition (PDMS-2) examines both gross motor and fine motor skills. This test is for children from birth through age 5. The evaluation assesses a child’s development, and also provides training and treatment to improve motor skills. The assessment generally lasts about 45-60 minutes, and provides an in-depth analysis. The Second Edition has been in use since 2000 and is a statistically reliable and valid norm-referenced assessment.

When you order the PDMS-2 COMPLETE Kit, you’ll receive an Examiner’s Manual, a Guide to Item Administration, a Picture Book, 25 Profile/Summary Forms, 25 Examiner Record Booklets, the Motor Activities Program Manual and a Peabody Motor Developmental Chart. The PDMS-2 is also offered without the Motor Activities Program Manual (PDMS-2 TEST Kit).

You will also receive the Object Kit and the Shape Cards Kit which both contain sets of test objects to help achieve a standardized administration of the test; the Object Kit includes a black shoelace, six square beads, a wooden pegboard, three wooden pegs, 12 one-inch cubes, a large button strip, a bottle with a cap, a formboard with shapes, a lacing card, a measuring tape, and a roll of masking tape. The Shape Cards Kit includes blackline masters and three shape cards.

The test scores consist of a Gross Motor Quotient, a Fine Motor Quotient, and a Total Quotient. The Gross Motor Quotient is made up of the Reflexes, Stationary, Locomotion, and Object Manipulation subtests. The Fine Motor Quotient includes the Grasping and Visual-Motor Integration subtests. Lastly, the Total Quotient combines both the Gross and Fine Motor subtests.

To reduce scoring and reporting time and errors, the new PDMS-2 Online Scoring and Reporting System has been developed and is purchased separately. It is web-based software that is PC, Mac and iPad compatible. Some of the software Scoring features include:

• converting PDMS-2 item scores or subtest scores into standard scores, percentile ranks, and age equivalents
• generating composite quotients
• comparing PDMS-2 subtest and composite performance to identify significant intra-individual differences

The software Reporting features also include:

• a printed report of the student’s identifying information and PDMS-2 performance including short-term and long-term treatment goals and objectives
• score and print reports using as few as one subtest score or only Gross or only Fine Motor scores
• save or print text or PDF file using two report options:
  • standard clinical report (2 page summary of test scores)
  • detailed clinical report (fully customized 6- to 8- page analysis indicating treatment goals and objectives

Additional features of this web-based software include:

• pull-down menus to easily navigate among software functions
  fields for storing detailed examiner and testing information
  on-screen subtest and quotient comparisons

A first-time base subscription provides an entire year of unlimited online scoring and report access for up to five users.