The guide offers a means for evaluating specific learning characteristics of visually impaired children at three levels: prereadiness (prekindergarten), readiness (kindergarten), and academic (primary grades). Items are designed to be administered by informal observation and structured testing. Score sheets contain space for reporting two testing sessions per item, and the progression of items can be used as a key to development of an individualized education program. Items from the prereadiness level cover fine motor communication, social-emotional, and gross motor skills. Readiness level items evaluate three main areas (subareas in parentheses): communication (auditory, visual, manual-tactual, speaking); mathematics (sets, numbers, measurement-time, measurement-money, measurement-linear, measurement-weight, measurement-temperature, geometry); and daily living (self care, career awareness, social-personal, body awareness). Entries from the academic level assess reading skills (work attack, word study, oral reading, and comprehension); writing skills (braille and print); spelling; language usage; mathematics (including numbers and numerals, arithmetic operations, and geometry); and daily living skills (leisure, vocational preparation and career awareness). Appended are the Dolch Word List and Optacon assessment procedures. (SB)