Psychoeducational Assessments for American School of Madrid Families
The American School of Madrid sits on Calle América in Pozuelo de Alarcón, a 25-minute drive west of central Madrid. Founded in 1961 as a non-profit institution, ASM is the longest-established American international school in the Spanish capital.
The school serves more than a thousand students from Kindergarten through Grade 12 on a single campus, with annual tuition ranging from approximately EUR 17,000 in the Lower School to approximately EUR 24,000 in the Upper School depending on grade. The student body is roughly one-third American, one-third Spanish, and one-third drawn from more than 60 other nationalities.
ASM delivers an American college preparatory curriculum culminating in a US High School Diploma, with the option of the full International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme in Grades 11 and 12.
The Class of 2025 secured 67 acceptances at QS Top 100 universities worldwide and 123 acceptances at Top 100 US universities, with 56 per cent of the graduating class progressing to Top 100 institutions.
ASM Curriculum
ASM delivers an American college preparatory curriculum culminating in a US High School Diploma, with the option of the full International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme in Grades 11 and 12. Students sit the SAT and Advanced Placement examinations administered by the College Board, with many also pursuing the IB Diploma in parallel.
The Upper School academic load is substantial and the school is academically selective and structured around students who can meet that demand.
The Challenges for ASM Families with Learning Differences
The Amercian School of Madrid’s published position on learning support is straightforward. The school offers targeted Learner Support, with particular capacity for English Language Learners. The Learner Support team covers EAL, reading, writing, mathematics, and executive function skills.
ASM does not have capacity to accommodate severe learning difficulties or significant behavioural needs, and the school is open about this. Students requiring substantial academic or social-emotional support are not accepted into Grades 6 through 12.
For families whose children show signs of dyslexia, dyscalculia, ADHD, or anxiety, the practical implication is that ASM is structured to support the mild to moderate end of the spectrum.
The school’s SENCO and Learner Support team work with classroom teachers to embed reasonable adjustments. What the school does not produce in-house is the formal diagnostic documentation that examination boards require when granting extra time and other access arrangements on the SAT, AP examinations, and the IB Diploma.
This is the gap. A child at ASM with dyslexia who needs extra time in exams, supervised rest breaks, the use of a word processor, or a separate examination room, needs an independent psychoeducational report to support the application. The same applies to a child with dyscalculia approaching the SAT mathematics sections, a child with ADHD whose focus deteriorates over the duration of a four-hour SAT, or a child whose anxiety levels make examinations a clinical rather than purely academic challenge.
The College Board administers SAT and AP accommodations through Services for Students with Disabilities, which requires documentation from a qualified professional, current diagnosis under DSM or ICD criteria, and recommendations linked specifically to the accommodations being requested. The IB administers IB Diploma access arrangements through its own process, with overlapping but distinct documentation expectations.
The Solution from Global Education Testing Madrid
Global Education Testing Madrid delivers comprehensive psychoeducational assessments designed to satisfy the College Board, the International Baccalaureate, and US, UK, and European university disability support services within a single report.
The diagnostic document is delivered by HCPC-registered educational psychologists, anchored in DSM-5-TR and ICD-11 diagnostic criteria, and structured in the format examination boards specifically require.
The assessment battery covers cognitive ability through the WISC-V or WAIS-V, academic achievement through the WIAT-III, phonological processing through CTOPP where dyslexia is suspected, handwriting through DASH where dysgraphia is suspected, executive function and attention through Conners and SNAP rating scales, visual-spatial processing through the Taylor Complex Figure Test, and emotional and behavioural factors through Rotter and clinical observation.
The integrated picture distinguishes dyslexia from EAL acquisition lag, ADHD from anxiety, dyscalculia from gaps in early mathematics instruction, and the various combinations of these that real children present.
Four Things Every ASM Family Should Know Before Assessment
These are the four issues that matter most when arranging an independent psychoeducational assessment for a student at the American School of Madrid.
1. The assessment must be conducted in the student’s language of instruction
ASM is an English-medium school where instruction across the curriculum takes place in English. The school’s own admissions documentation requires students whose first language is not English to demonstrate English proficiency through TOEFL Junior or Cambridge English assessments at B2 or C1 levels depending on the grade.
Cognitive and academic assessments administered in English produce results that reflect the child’s true ability to function in their English-medium classroom and on the SAT, AP, and IB Diploma examinations they will eventually face.
A diagnostic assessment conducted in Spanish conflates language acquisition with cognitive ability and produces results that do not map onto the academic environment the child actually operates within. Global Education Testing Madrid conducts all assessments in English, the language of instruction at ASM, with the full clinical battery normed for English-speaking populations.
2. Local Spanish assessments do not satisfy international examination boards
A diagnostic report produced by a Spanish-trained psychologist or neuropediatra, written in Spanish and grounded in Spanish educational frameworks, will not be accepted by the College Board for SAT and AP access arrangements, by the International Baccalaureate Organization for IB Diploma access arrangements, or by US universities reviewing accommodation requests.
The format expected, the named subtests, the standard scoring conventions, the diagnostic frameworks (DSM-5-TR and ICD-11), and the qualifications of the assessor (HCPC registration or US licensure) are all specifically international standards. A Spanish report, however clinically accurate, sits outside the system the international examination boards and universities recognise.
3. Single-issue screening is not enough
The most common mistake international families make is arranging a single-condition screen, often for dyslexia, when the underlying profile is more complex. Dyslexia, dyscalculia, dysgraphia, ADHD, and autism frequently co-occur. A child with ADHD often shows literacy difficulties that look like dyslexia until the attentional profile is properly assessed. A child with high-functioning autism may show executive function difficulties that are misread as ADHD. Single-issue screens identify whether the named condition is present and stop there.
A comprehensive psychoeducational assessment evaluates cognitive ability, working memory, processing speed, reading, writing, mathematics, attention, executive function, language, and adaptive behaviour, producing a complete profile that reveals the actual structure of the child’s learning differences and how they interact. ASM’s admissions committee uses the comprehensive picture to determine fit, and a single-issue screen does not give them what they need.
4. Independent assessment protects the family across every pathway
The ASM student who is assessed independently at Lower School carries the diagnostic report into the Middle School progression review, then into Upper School, then into College Board accommodations for the SAT and AP examinations, then into IB Diploma access arrangements, then into US, UK, and European university disability support services, and onward into adult life.
A school-based screen or a Spanish-language report does not travel through these systems. An independent diagnostic assessment from an HCPC-registered educational psychologist follows the student internationally, opens accommodations at every stage of education, and protects the family from having to repeat the process at every transition.
Examination Pathways and Access Arrangements at ASM
American School of Madrid students graduate with a US High School Diploma. Most also sit the SAT administered by the College Board for US university applications, with many also taking SAT Subject Tests and AP examinations across their Upper School years. Some students additionally pursue the full International Baccalaureate Diploma Program in Grades 11 and 12 to strengthen applications to UK, European, and selective US universities.
Each of these pathways operates its own access arrangements process. The College Board administers accommodations for the SAT and AP examinations through Services for Students with Disabilities, requiring documentation from a qualified professional, current diagnosis using DSM-5-TR or ICD-11 criteria, and recommendations linked specifically to the accommodations requested. The International Baccalaureate Organization administers IB Diploma access arrangements through IBIS, with its own format expectations and required evidence.
A single comprehensive psychoeducational assessment from Global Education Testing Madrid, tailored to the specific pathways an ASM student will follow, satisfies all of these systems within one document.
The 20 to 30 page diagnostic report produced by HCPC-registered educational psychologists is formatted to meet College Board SSD requirements in full, IBIS requirements where IB Diploma students are concerned, and the documentation expectations of US and international university disability support services that students will encounter after graduation.
Accommodations a Psychoeducational Evaluation Can Unlock
Extra time in examinations. Most commonly 25 per cent additional time, with up to 50 per cent or 100 per cent available where the diagnostic profile supports it. Applies to the SAT, PSAT, AP examinations, IB Diploma examinations, and university admissions tests.
Supervised rest breaks. Brief breaks during examinations to manage attention, anxiety, or fatigue, with the examination clock paused. Useful for students with ADHD, anxiety, or processing-related fatigue.
Separate examination room. A quieter, lower-distraction environment, often used in combination with extra time. Particularly relevant for students with ADHD, anxiety, or sensory sensitivities.
Small group testing. Examination in a small group rather than the main hall.
Use of a word processor. Permission to type rather than handwrite extended responses. Indicated where dysgraphia, slow handwriting speed, or significant motor difficulties are documented.
Use of a reader. A person who reads the examination paper aloud to the candidate. Granted where reading accuracy or reading speed falls significantly below average.
Use of a scribe. A person who writes down the candidate’s spoken responses. Used where significant writing difficulties or motor impairment are documented.
Speech-to-text software. Assistive technology that converts spoken responses into typed text. An alternative to a human scribe.
Text-to-speech software. Assistive technology that reads the examination paper aloud. An alternative to a human reader.
Modified paper formats. Enlarged print, coloured overlays, or alternative paper colour for students with visual processing difficulties or specific reading difficulties.
Prompter. An invigilator who can refocus the candidate’s attention during the examination without giving any answer guidance. Used for students with ADHD or significant attention difficulties.
Permission to take medication during examinations. Where medical management of ADHD or anxiety is part of the student’s profile.
Examination scheduling adjustments. Spreading examinations across additional days, or scheduling at times of day that match the student’s documented functional profile.
Classroom accommodations alongside examination access arrangements. Preferential seating, modified homework expectations, explicit teaching of organisational strategies, visual supports for instructions, breaking tasks into manageable chunks, and alternative methods of demonstrating knowledge. The Global Education Testing Madrid report provides ASM’s SENCO and classroom teachers with specific guidance on each of these.