Goal/Benefits of Educational Assessments
The goal of ABEA’s assessments is to ensure clients are accessing the appropriate programs to help them succeed in attaining their goals. ABEA is an impartial assessment and referral agency – we do not deliver any programs and are independent in the community. Assessments save time, money, frustration, and gives the client a detailed action plan to reach their goals.
Assessments are offered at ABEA. However, onsite assessments can be made available, typically for groups.
Educational Planning Assessment Tool (EPAT)
This assessment can be done in a group format, takes approximately 3 hours to complete and
- identifies Essential Skills levels
- includes an employment profile specific to the client’s goal
- results in a summary of upgrading needs for training
- includes a detailed Educational Action Plan to reach education, training, and employment goals
An assessment is needed if you or your client
- needs to retrain
- has been out of school for 5 or more years (including those with Grade 12)
- is unsure of his/her skills
- needs Grade 12/equivalent
- needs the necessary prerequisites for training
These assessments are completed 1:1 if the client needs additional support, is not comfortable in a group setting, does not have access to a phone for a background interview or may transition to a learning challenges assessment.
Learning Challenges Assessment (LCAT)
This assessment is done one to one, takes approximately 3 hours to complete and
- identifies Essential Skills levels
- identifies strength and challenge areas related to language processing
- results in a detailed Educational Action Plan to meet the client’s goals
- includes learning strategies for the classroom
An assessment is needed if you or your client
- has significant difficulties with reading, writing, or math skills (reported or are observed as struggling with such tasks as instructions, forms, reading materials, etc.)
- avoids literacy tasks
- has previously been diagnosed with a learning disability (usually in primary school)
GED (General Educational Development) Pre-Test
This assessment
- identifies areas of skill gaps (if any) for all 5 GED subject areas
- includes recommendations to help you/the client pass the GED successfully
- includes some upgrading materials and registration information as needed
An assessment is needed if you or your client
- needs a Grade 12 equivalent to reach your/their goals
- is 18+ and have been out of school for at least one year
- is comfortable reading various materials, writing essays, and can perform basic math operations and work with decimals, fractions, algebra and geometry (if you/your client are not comfortable with all of these skills an EPAT is recommended)
Educational Interviews
This is an in-person meeting with an assessor with no assessment activities. In this meeting educational options and preferences will be discussed based on the education and employment goals. It will include an action plan to reach the client’s goals. This service is typically offered onsite with community partners. For more information, please contact us.

Assessment Referral Process – for agencies
To refer a client please complete the online referral form.
If you are unsure of which service to refer to, please call us so we can help.
After we receive the referral form we will
- connect with the client
- ensure that the assessment you have chosen is appropriate
- book an assessment time
- email you back with the details of the appointment
If you do not hear back from us within 2 business days please call to ensure your referral was received.
Please note: clients who speak English as a second or additional language need to be at a Canadian Language Benchmark (CLB) 6 or higher (testing completed in the last 12 months) in Speaking and Listening to be appropriate for any of ABEA’s assessments. This is to ensure that the client can communicate clearly through the interview process. If the client does not have a current CLB test, please call ABEA for CLB testing details (ABEA does not provide this service).
Once the client is booked ABEA will
- give the client a reminder call the day before the appointment
- confirm the client’s attendance after the appointment time
- forward the report when it is completed
No-Show Fees
No show fees apply. For new agencies, please discuss this with us before your first referral is made.