Yellow 2 Knowt (Psych in the Schools)

Psychological Service Delivery in Schools

What Do School Psychologists Do?

• Assessment

• Intervention

• Consultation

• Prevention

• Special education eligibility/IEPs

• Classification and diagnosis

• Data-based decision making

• Paperwork

• Academics, behavior, classroom management, curriculum and instruction issues

Assessment is…

• A process of gathering info about a student or groups of students

• A vehicle of communication about important info regarding a student or groups of students

Assessment > Testing

• Review

• Interview

• Observation

• Test

Purposes for Assessment

• Classification/special education eligibility/diagnosis

• Problem solving/intervention development

• Progress monitoring 

• Screening

• Different purposes have different tools

Tests

Samples of behavior

Behaviors Sampled by Intelligence Tests

• Discrimination

• Generalization

• Motor/visual-motor behavior

• General knowledge

• Vocab

• Comprehension

• Sequencing

• Analogies

• Pattern Completion

• Abstract reasoning 

• Memory

• Attention

• Speed of cognitive processing

Diagnostic Decisions/Special Ed Eligibility Determination

• LD (IQ-achievement discrepancy) 

• ID (IQ at 70 or below)

• AU?

• ED?

Tests Cannot be Sole Criterion in Eligibility Determination

Records, Interviews, Observations, Other tests (e.g., CBM)

Controversies with IQ Tests

• Limited view of intelligence/different views of intelligence (no two tests measure the same things)

• No utility for intervention development/IEP goals

• Perpetuates labeling, refer-test-place model

• Overrepresentation of minorities in special education 

• Heavily verbally and culturally loaded

  • Should be used very cautiously with ELL students, if at all

Common IQ Tests

WISC-V; Stanford-Binet 5; RIAS; Differential Abilities Scale-II; UNIT

Academic Achievement Testing

WIAT-IV; WJ-IV; KTEA-3

• Usually standardized

• Reading, writing, math, oral language

• Designed for a wide range of ages/grades

Social-Emotional-Behavioral Assessment

BASC-2; Conners; SSIS

• Interviews and observations are very important

• Standardized rating scales

Traditional Approach to Assessment

Eligibility/classification/diagnosis/labeling

Modern Approach to Assessment

Problem solving, intervention development, MTSS, data-based decision making

Assessment Issues in School Psychology

• Traditional vs Modern Approach to Assessment

  • Traditional

    • Discuss – What are the pros and cons of labeling students?

  • Modern

• Nondiscriminatory Assessment

  • Is this really possible?

• Treatment Utility

  • Should we be using tests that help us develop appropriate interventions?

Intervention

• Designed to impact a student’s acquisition of skills

• Planned strats designed to change the behavior (academic or social) of a learner

• Should target more than just the student

Interventions Should Target More than Just the Student

• Teacher

• Student

• Task

• Materials

• Peers

• Parents

Intervention Components

1. Behavioral Definition

2. Baseline Data

3. Problem Validation

4. Problem Analysis

5. Goal Setting

6. Intervention Plan Development

7. Measurement Strat

8. Decision-Making Plan

9. Progress Monitoring

10. Formative Evaluation 

11. Treatment Integrity

12. Summative Eval

Intervention Issues

• Risk/Resiliency Research

• Evidence-Based Practices

• Mental Health in Schools

• School Dropout

• Violence/Crisis Prevention

• Effective Instruction and Classroom Management

• Others???

Consultation

Method of providing preventively oriented psychological and educational services in which consultants and consultees form cooperative partnerships and engage in a reciprocal, systematic problem solving process guided by eco-behavioral principles. The goal is to enhance and empower consultee systems, thereby promoting students’ wellbeing and performance

Components of Problem Solving Consultation

1. Establish relationships 

2. Problem identification 

3. Problem analysis 

4. Plan development and implementation

5. Intervention evaluation

SOME Issues in Consultation

• Power and status

• Resistance

• Treatment integrity 

• Generalization

• Time