Dr. Mel Levine » The ANSER System

The ANSER System
by Melvin D. Levine, M.D., F.A.A.P.
Grades PK–6

Revised in 1996, The ANSER System is a series of questionnaires for parents, clinicians, and schools to assess the development, behavior, and health of children from ages 3 through adolescence. The program was developed at and is used in the Division of Ambulatory Pediatrics in the Department of Medicine at Children’s Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts. This is a unique assessment tool that does not yield a specific label or category to apply to a child and does not collect norms. The goal of The ANSER System is to gather information pertinent to the assessment of behavior disorders, school adjustment problems, and learning differences.

The ANSER System is designed to be used in health-care settings, guidance and counseling centers, or schools to evaluate children who are thought to have specific learning disabilities or behavior disorders. The various forms in the system are completed by parents, school personnel, and older students. The system is comprised of 6 forms, broken down by student age as follows:

Form 1 (ages 3–5): 1 questionnaire for parents, 1 questionnaire for schools
Form 2 (ages 6–11): 1 questionnaire for parents, 1 questionnaire for schools
Form 3 (ages 12+): 1 questionnaire for parents, 1 questionnaire for schools
Form 4 (ages 9+): a self-administered student profile for older children who are being evaluated
Form 5 (all ages): follow-up questionnaires for parents and schools to monitor progress
Form 6 (ages 9+): follow-up questionnaire for older children to monitor progress

Forms 1–4 are sold in packages of 1 dozen; Forms 5 and 6 are sold in packages of 2 dozen.

An Interpreter’s Guide, which offers a general introduction to the exam and sample pages from all forms, is also available.

For information about each component of The ANSER System, click on individual titles below.