In identifying special educational needs two different assessment procedures can be distinguished: one for pupils falling under the so-called Together to School Again policy (see development of integration/inclusion) and the other for pupils possibly eligible for special education placement.

Under the Together to School Again policy assessing pupils with learning difficulties and mild mental impairments is basically the responsibility of the classroom teacher. If the pupil’s special needs are difficult to meet, the teacher can be supported by the school’s special needs coordinator or by support teachers from the regional school support service. A next step would be to refer the pupil for assessment to a regionally operating assessment team. These teams, which generally comprise a psychologist, physician, social worker and experienced special needs teachers, assess pupils in order to decide on the support needed. Parents’ permission is required for such an assessment. The initiative to do this is usually taken by the regular school teacher in consultation with the school principal, school support service and parents. In general teachers refer pupils who are behind in learning or show deviant behaviour within the classroom situation.

Pupils eligible for a special education school may or may not have already attended regular education for some years. Certain pupils may not have followed regular education at the time of referral because of the severity of their impairment. Although pupils are formally referred to special education by their parents, referrals can be initiated by regular classroom teachers, medical specialists, the social pedagogical services or early intervention services. Pupils with sensory, physical and mental impairments as well as/or severe behavioural problems are assessed by the admission boards of the special school concerned. Regulations prescribe the composition of an admission board, which generally comprises a psychologist, physician, social worker and the school principal. For specific school types, e.g. schools for the deaf, other specialists, like an audiologist, may also be part of the board. Each special school usually has its own admission board, but governing boards running several schools can appoint a common admission board. Pupils eligible for special education are not obliged to attend a special school, that depends ultimately on the parents’ decision. There are no clearly defined criteria to decide on eligibility, since special education legislation (WEC) simply states ‘separate primary and secondary special education are intended for children for whom it has been established that a mainly orthopedagogical and orthodidactical approach is most appropriate.

Generally the assessment consists of examining  somatic/medical aspects, cognitive development, specific developmental aspects (language development, communication, concentration, motivation, etc.), social-emotional development (behaviour, emotional stability, independence, etc.), as well as profiling the family situation, neighbourhood and/or cultural background. The emphasis in the assessment depends on the reason for referral and the pupil’s impairments. For many years assessment focussed more on deciding on eligibility than on making an individual education plan, whereas now assessment teams try to formulate the findings not only in terms of eligibility, but also in terms of educational planning.
It is obvious that the criteria used by the various admission boards differ between the several school types but also within school types. Especially in less densely populated areas the ‘correct’ school type may be too far away and other special schools may act as a ‘last resort’, thereby stretching the generally applied admission criteria.

Two years after being admitted, a re-examination takes place to assess progress within the specific type of education to decide how pupil's abilities can be further developed and whether the pupil should be transferred to regular or to another type of special school.

Recently, parliament approved the implementation of new assessment criteria and systems for pupils with sensory, mental and/or physical impairments and/or behaviour problems (see development of integration/inclusion).