A full evaluation is a comprehensive psychological and psychoeducational assessment that goes beyond a single IQ test. It provides a detailed picture of your cognitive, academic, emotional, and behavioral functioning, with actionable recommendations for academic planning, career development, or clinical intervention.

Last Updated: August 2026

What is a Full Evaluation?

A full evaluation is a comprehensive psychological and psychoeducational assessment that provides a complete picture of your cognitive, academic, emotional, and behavioral functioning. Unlike a single IQ test, which focuses only on cognitive abilities, a full evaluation includes multiple tests and assessments to provide a holistic understanding of your strengths and challenges.

Full evaluations are typically conducted by licensed psychologists and can take anywhere from 2 to 6 hours of testing time, often spread across multiple sessions.

What a Full Evaluation Includes

• Cognitive Assessment (IQ testing): WISC-V (children), WAIS-IV or WAIS-5 (adults), or Stanford-Binet 5 to measure intellectual abilities
• Academic Achievement Testing: Measures reading, writing, math, and other academic skills
• Behavioral and Emotional Assessment: Questionnaires and interviews to assess emotional well-being, social functioning, and behavioral patterns
• Executive Functioning Assessment: Measures attention, planning, organization, and self-regulation
• Clinical Interview: Detailed interview to understand personal history, concerns, and goals
• Comprehensive Report: Detailed findings with scores, interpretations, and actionable recommendations

Full Evaluation vs. Single IQ Test

When Is a Full Evaluation Recommended?

A full evaluation is recommended in several situations:

• Learning disabilities: Suspected dyslexia, dyscalculia, dysgraphia, or other learning disorders
• ADHD: Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder diagnosis and treatment planning
• Giftedness with learning challenges (2E): Twice-exceptional children who are both gifted and have learning disabilities
• Autism assessment: Comprehensive evaluation for autism spectrum disorder
• Educational planning: For Individualized Education Programs (IEPs) or 504 plans
• Legal documentation: For court cases, disability claims, or special education advocacy
• Mental health concerns: Anxiety, depression, or other emotional challenges affecting academic or occupational functioning
• College accommodations: Documentation for accommodations on college entrance exams (SAT, ACT, GRE) or in college settings

Rockford Hospitals and Medical Centers Offering Evaluations

UW Health SwedishAmerican

• Regional system: Hospital, neurology, rehabilitation, behavioral-health, and specialty services may evaluate or refer cognitive concerns.
• Clinical scope: Availability depends on age, diagnosis, referral, medical necessity, and the specific department.
• Before scheduling: Ask whether the need is best addressed by psychology, neuropsychology, neurology, rehabilitation, psychiatry, or another service.

Mercyhealth and Javon Bea Hospital

• Pediatric and adult care: Regional hospital and outpatient programs may coordinate developmental, neurological, rehabilitation, and behavioral-health assessment.
• Referral: Access, age limits, waitlists, and insurance rules vary by clinic.
• Records: Bring relevant school, medical, therapy, imaging, medication, and prior-testing documentation.

OSF Saint Anthony Medical Center

• Medical setting: Neurology, rehabilitation, and related services may refer for focused cognitive or comprehensive neuropsychological assessment.
• Purpose: Hospital-based testing is commonly tied to a clinical question rather than gifted placement or personal curiosity.
• Coverage: Verify referral and prior-authorization requirements with both the service and insurer.

University of Illinois College of Medicine Rockford

• Academic medicine: The Rockford campus supports medical education, family medicine, biomedical research, rural health, and clinical partnerships.
• Not a generic testing office: Research or educational programs do not necessarily provide public IQ evaluations; confirm current clinical referral pathways.
• Training context: Services involving supervised trainees should disclose supervision, credentials, consent, and report responsibility.

Independent Neuropsychology and Rehabilitation Practices

• Specialty matching: Regional clinicians may focus on brain injury, dementia, epilepsy, stroke, developmental disorders, vocational rehabilitation, or disability documentation.
• Travel radius: A Rockford resident may be referred outside the city when a pediatric, bilingual, forensic, or medically specialized evaluator is not locally available.
• Continuity: Ask who will coordinate results with physicians, therapists, schools, employers, or disability offices and obtain written releases before records are shared.

Private Practice Psychologists

• Dr. Jason Soriano, Psy.D.: The official practice site explicitly lists IQ testing and psychological testing at 973 Featherstone Road, Rockford; phone (815) 520-0927.
• Scope varies: Confirm child or adult ages, exact tests, diagnostic areas, forensic exclusions, school or Mensa acceptance, and whether in-person administration is required.
• Credentials: Verify active Illinois licensure and relevant assessment training.

Rockford Evaluation Costs by Provider

• Focused IQ assessment: Cost depends on test, age, records, feedback, and report depth.
• Psychoeducational evaluation: Cognitive and academic testing plus diagnostic interviewing and rating scales requires more professional time.
• Neuropsychological evaluation: Broader memory, attention, language, executive, motor, emotional, and medical assessment is generally more expensive.
• Hospital or clinic: Charges depend on referral, medical necessity, network status, deductibles, copays, prior authorization, and billing codes.
• Private practice: Request written information on deposit, cancellation, records review, testing hours, feedback, report, forms, school meetings, legal testimony, and turnaround.
• School-based evaluation: Eligible district evaluations follow school procedures and are not the same as privately purchased testing.

Rockford Legal and Forensic Evaluations

• Separate service: A routine clinical IQ evaluation is not automatically suitable for disability claims, guardianship, competency, immigration, criminal, civil, or employment litigation.
• Illinois standards: Confirm evaluator qualifications, legal question, informed-consent limits, collateral records, validity testing, and report recipients.
• Attorney coordination: When litigation is pending, counsel should clarify scope and retention before the evaluation begins.
• Independence: Treating and forensic roles can conflict; the evaluator should explain role boundaries.
• Fees: Depositions, testimony, record review, travel, expedited work, and attorney communication are commonly billed separately.

Rockford Evaluation Timeline and Process

1. Referral clarification: Identify the decision the evaluation must support and obtain the recipient's written criteria.
2. Intake and records: Collect school, medical, developmental, employment, treatment, and prior-testing records.
3. Testing: One or more sessions may assess cognition, achievement, attention, memory, language, behavior, personality, and adaptive function.
4. Integration: The psychologist evaluates validity, observations, records, informant reports, score patterns, diagnosis, and functional impact.
5. Feedback and report: Review conclusions, limitations, recommendations, and next steps; ask when the signed report will be released.
6. Rockford logistics: School deadlines, hospital referrals, insurance authorization, winter weather, and provider waitlists can affect timing.

Rockford Insurance Coverage for Evaluations

• Medical necessity: Coverage is more likely when assessment addresses symptoms, diagnosis, treatment, or rehabilitation.
• Common exclusions: Gifted placement, school admission, Mensa, career interest, or personal curiosity may be excluded.
• Verify directly: Ask about network status, referral, prior authorization, deductible, coinsurance, testing codes, report fees, and denied-claim appeals.
• School rights: If a suspected disability affects education, families can request information about the RPS 205 evaluation process.
• Do not assume: An office accepting an insurer does not guarantee that a particular testing purpose or instrument is covered.

Rockford Evaluation Referrals

• Self-referral: Many private psychologists accept direct inquiries, but some specialties require professional referral.
• School referral: Parents or school teams can initiate discussion when disability concerns affect educational functioning.
• Medical referral: Primary-care, neurology, psychiatry, rehabilitation, pediatrics, or another specialist may identify the clinical question.
• College or agency: Obtain documentation standards before testing so the evaluation answers the correct functional question.
• Provider call: Dr. Jason Soriano's Rockford practice lists IQ testing; call (815) 520-0927 to confirm fit, ages, test, report, and availability.

Benefits of a Full Evaluation

• Complete picture: Understand the full picture of your or your child's functioning – cognitive, academic, emotional, and behavioral
• Accurate diagnosis: Receive precise diagnoses for learning disabilities, ADHD, autism, or other conditions
• Legal documentation: Obtain documentation for IEPs, 504 plans, college accommodations, disability claims, or court cases
• Personalized recommendations: Receive tailored recommendations for academic planning, career development, therapy, or treatment
• Peace of mind: Understand your or your child's strengths and challenges and how to address them effectively
• Long-term planning: Use the findings for educational, career, and personal planning

Full Evaluations in Rockford

• School planning: Learning disorders, ADHD, autism, giftedness, IEP or Section 504 needs, and twice-exceptional profiles.
• Medical questions: Brain injury, neurological disease, developmental conditions, memory change, rehabilitation, or treatment planning.
• College and licensing: Documentation for Rockford University, Rock Valley College, UIC programs, NIU, professional exams, or other agencies.
• Adult function: Career planning, diagnostic clarification, disability, capacity, or return-to-work questions with the appropriate evaluator.
• Quality control: Confirm active Illinois licensure, specialty, test security, standardized administration, validity evidence, report depth, and recipient acceptance.

Frequently Asked Questions