School Psychology

School Psychology

Learning Outcomes/Goals:

1. Commitment to a Developmental and Contextual Perspective
2. Knowledgeable about typical and atypical development across the lifespan
3. Knowledgeable about multiple theoretical perspectives on the nature of learning
4. Knowledgeable about the unique characteristics of the different worlds of which children are a part
5. Recognizes the extant cultures and the behavioral regularities that underlie membership in various communities
6. Understands the unique challenges of moving across settings (e.g., home-school) and crossing boundaries
7. Recognizes the social, cultural, organizational and historical contexts in which learning and development occur
8. Conceptualizes problems from various points of view
9. Understands the organizational culture of schools
10. Understands and respects individual differences
11. Understands how culture, gender, class, and disability influence behavior

2.Commitment to Scholarship and Inquiry

1. Knowledgeable about a variety of research methodologies
2. Critically judges the validity and technical adequacy of research
3. Critiques research and identifies ways to address limitations
4. Develops research questions that are grounded in prior research and theory
5. Designs and carries out original research
6. Interprets data appropriately
7. Disseminates and communicates research findings
8. Develops evidence-based interventions

1. Commitment to Collaborative Problem-Solving
2. Approaches tasks responsively as data-based problem-solvers (as opposed to reflexively as a “tester”)
3. Analyzes and identifies problems systematically
4. Uses appropriate assessment procedures for developing interventions
5. Develops, implements, and monitors evidence-based interventions
6. Collaborates effectively with educational staff
7. Establishes rapport effectively with a variety of clientele
8. Knowledgeable about models of consultation
9. Possesses effective communication skills
10. Possesses effective interpersonal skills
11. Commitment to Participating in Communities of Practice and Scholarship
12. Participates in a community of scholars
13. Participates in a community of practice in school psychology
14. Develops professional identity as a school psychologist
15. Demonstrates an understanding, awareness and sensitivity to issues of diversity
16. Demonstrates an understanding, awareness, sensitivity and ability to incorporate ethical, professional and legal guidelines into their practice
17. Demonstrates a commitment to continuing professional development and life-long learning

1. Commitment to Schools and Educational Issues
2. Knowledgeable about the organizational culture of schools
3. Knowledgeable about the organization and administration of local and state agencies and their services for pupils
4. Knowledgeable about federal and state special education laws and other legal aspects of the role of the school psychologist
5. Knowledgeable about research and theories in educational psychology
6. Develops professional identity as a school psychologist
7. Demonstrates an understanding, awareness and sensitivity to issues of diversity

1. Professional Preparation in School Psychology

Assessment

1. Demonstrates knowledge about learning difficulties and disabilities
2. Plans, conducts, and interprets assessments effectively
3. Possesses expertise in assessing socio-emotional functioning and personality
4. Possess expertise in assessing intellectual functioning
5. Skilled in using assessment procedures with individuals, groups, and organizations
6. Understands how cultural, class, gender, and ethnic differences influence behavior

Intervention

1. Plans, recommends, implements and evaluates interventions effectively
2. Uses evidence-based intervention approaches
3. Knowledgeable about a range of academic interventions
4. Knowledgeable about a range of socio-emotional interventions
5. Knowledgeable about behavioral interventions
6. Plans and implements appropriate classroom management procedures with other staff
7. Possesses effective counseling skills

Consultation

1. Knowledgeable about different models of consultation
2. Effectively develops collaborative consultation relationships
3. Provides effective consultation with parents, teachers, and staff
4. Knowledgeable about organizational cultures
5. Knowledgeable about organizational issues/assessment

Interpersonal, Communication and Collaboration Skills

1. Works effectively with individuals such as students, teachers, and parents
2. Collaborates and works on teams effectively
3. Communicates information effectively to teachers, parents, staff

Professional Development as a School Psychologist

1. Carries out role in a responsible and professional manner
2. Develops clear professional identity
3. Articulates statement of professional practice
4. Knowledgeable about the ethical guidelines for professional practice and for the profession of school psychology in particular
5. Knowledgeable about legal standards guiding professional practice and the profession of school psychology in particular
6. Knowledgeable about legislation and case law affecting the practice of school psychology
7. Participates in a community of school psychologists

1. General Issues of Professional Practice

Ethical Dimensions of Practice

1. Knowledgeable about the ethical guidelines for professional practice and research
2. Knowledge about the professional standards informing practice and research
3. Integrates ethical principles into professional practice and scholarship activities
4. Recognizes and responds appropriately to ethical dilemmas

Legal Dimensions of Practice

1. Knowledgeable abut legal standards guiding professional practice
2. Adheres to current legal standards, policies, and procedures
3. Knowledgeable about legislation affecting the professional practice of psychology
4. Knowledgeable about case law affecting the practice of psychology

Quality Assurance and Continuing Professional Development

1. Takes initiative for own learning
2. Benefits and learns from supervisory feedback
3. Knowledgeable about computer technology necessary for assessment, instruction, and the delivery of services
4. Participates in professional development activities

Assessment Methods:

1. Written Report: Student participation in this process has taken the form of formal written data, such as annual reviews, course evaluations, and portfolios
2. Discussions: such as participation in Town Hall meetings held once per semester and informal discussions with faculty. . The Town Hall meetings provide students with the opportunity to raise questions and express concerns about the program. We also have established a Student Advisory Committee consisting of students representing different cohorts in the program who advise the faculty and represent student opinions.
3. Academic Records: Faculty have provided data for self-assessment in the form of academic records including course grades, preliminary exams, comprehensive exams, annual student reviews, and completion of requirements.
4. Direct Observations: They have also provided verbal data including direct observations and narrative reports in regular meetings and reviews of student progress.
5. Field Supervisor Feedback: Field supervisors for practicum and internship provide formal written data about the students’ performance. The field supervisors complete two formal evaluations each semester, a mid-term and final evaluation of students’ practica and internship experiences (see Program Handbook, Appendix C, for evaluation forms). They also provide verbal data through site visits and phone contacts with the University supervising faculty member.
6. Internal Assessment: In addition to these regular procedures and processes for evaluating the program, a more extensive and comprehensive self-assessment is undertaken every 5 to7 years as part of the accreditation review by the American Psychological Association. The last Self-Study for this purpose was completed in 2003. At that time, survey data were also collected to systematically obtain more extensive feedback from alumni, current students, and faculty. The anonymous survey was designed to obtain descriptive data and to elicit critical feedback regarding the program. Parallel questionnaires were developed for current students and alumni.
7. Students Progress Reports:Student data documenting their activities and accomplishments over the course of the year are collected annually in the spring. In addition, students who are enrolled in the practicum and internship courses submit a portfolio of their fieldwork for review. The portfolio includes a statement of professional practice, supervisors’ evaluations, activity logs, assessment cases, intervention cases, sample reports, and ethical dilemmas.
8. Course Evaluations: Students are invited to provide written feedback to the program once a year. Students also provide written evaluations of all their courses. They complete a University course evaluation form, the Student Instructional Rating System or SIRS, which, becomes part of the teaching faculty’s annual review materials and part of the Department’s permanent records. In addition, some faculty also solicit narrative feedback forms asking for specific feedback and suggestions for improvement.
9. Annual review of Student Progress:To ensure that students are meeting the expected levels of achievement to making satisfactory progress in the program, the Program conducts an annual review of student progress at the end of each academic year. Students complete an annual report and self-evaluation documenting their progress in the following areas: coursework, research experience, clinical experiences, and teaching experiences, and Program Milestones. The faculty formally review each student and prepare a written evaluation of students’ progress in the program, making recommendations as needed. The successful development of clinical skills and competencies is determined through written evaluations by the field supervisor, evaluations by the course instructor, the practicum portfolio, performance in relevant coursework, and successfully obtaining internships, and highly rated internship performance. Mid-term, end of term and annual evaluations provide five points throughout the year to review students’ clinical competencies and serve as decision-making gates to determine the whether students are making satisfactory progress to move forward in their programs. Guidance Committees also provide another mechanism by which student’s progress can be reviewed relative to their goals and program objectives.
10. CEPSE Exams: At the beginning of the second year, CEPSE doctoral students take the preliminary exam. Each doctoral program provides a research article in their specific area for students to critique. Students are given the same set of guidelines and questions for the critique. The exam results in one of three scores: Pass, ConditionalPass (this constitutes a Pass, but requires students to do further work addressing areas of weakness), and Fail. The exams are evaluated by two faculty in the relevant program and one outside the program.
11. Comprehensive Exams:School psychology comprehensive exams consist of a one-day, closed book exam covering four areas of professional preparation and a 1-week “take home” research paper. They are typically taken in the fall of students’ fourth year. These exams meet common departmental requirements and are given in a department-wide administration twice each year. The exams are separately prepared and evaluated by each program area.

Assessment Results:

1. A review of the graduate records of students enrolled in the past six years yielded the following cumulative grade point averages (GPA) on a 4 point scale for all graduate work taken as part of the doctoral Program (for all students enrolled in spring semester 2005). These findings reveal excellent performance in courses taken across a range of graduate programs (e.g., School Psychology, Counseling Psychology, Measurement and Statistics, Educational Psychology, Special Education) and departments (CEPSE, Psychology, Teacher Education, Family and Child Ecology). These results provide evidence that students are acquiring the knowledge and competencies associated with the entire set of Program Objectives.

Cumulative GPA in the School Psychology Doctoral Program overall and by entering year:

1. CEPSE results show that School Psychology students are demonstrating competencies in the development of research skills and achieving the objectives under the Commitment to Scholarship and Inquiry. School Psychology students have all successfully passed the exams on the first attempt. Note: ConditionalPass results are considered a pass but involve providing students with feedback to address areas needing attention.

Year of Exam, Fall2005200420032002200120001999

Students attempted exam6854560

Pass575436--

Conditional Pass11----2----

Fail------

% Passing100%100%100%100%100%100%--

1. Eleven of the 28 students currently enrolled have completed this research requirement. Each of these students have also presented their work at a national conference. Of the remaining 17, ten are in the first or second year of the program and are making appropriate progress. The remaining students are competing their research.
2. All currently enrolled students are appropriately completing the Practicum requirements. Doctoral students complete a minimum of 1000 practicum hours. Students’ performance in the Practicum course (CEP 893K), field supervisor’s evaluations, university supervisor’s evaluations, and performance in practica connected with other courses (e.g., CEP 880, CEP 881, CEP 886, CEP 887, CEP 888, CEP 889 ) indicate that students are performing at very good to excellent levels. Students have earned course grades ranging from 3.5 to 4.0, with an average of 3.9. Supervisory feedback indicates that students’ are performing at levels of competence appropriate to their developmental stage with no deficiencies noted. Further evidence that program objectives are being met is the number of students who have obtained APA accredited internships. There are highly competitive internships and prior to 2004, none of our students completed APA accredited internships.

1. School psychology comprehensive exams consist of a one-day, closed book exam covering four areas of professional preparation and a 1-week “take home” research paper. They are typically taken in the fall of students’ fourth year. These exams meet common departmental requirements and are given in a department-wide administration twice each year. The exams are separately prepared and evaluated by each program area. School Psychology students have had an excellent record in performing on this exam. Data are reported for the past three years when the revised comprehensive exam procedures currently in effect were implemented.

Year of Exam05-0604-0503-0402-0301-0200-0199-00

School Psychology

Attempted2437*032

Passed2433--32

% Passing100%100%100%43%--100%100%

*Includes two students who failed initially and on the retake of the exam in a departure from previous years, two students failed the comprehensive exams initially (fall) and on their re-take (spring) of those exams during the 2002-2003 school year. Both of these students moved to the Ed.S. program.

1. In the past seven years 15 students have graduated from the program. Of these, 3 are working as professors in universities and the remainder are working in school settings as school psychologists. The employment rate has been 100% for all graduates seeking employment.
2. The data indicate that students are enrolling in appropriate research courses and that they are performing well in these classes. Students rated their ability to critique research, identify research questions, and design research very highly. This is supported by their successful performance on the Preliminary Exam. Students are active members of research groups with the three Core Faculty, presenting at national conferences and publishing their work. For example, this past year, twelve students presented at NASP and/or APA and four co-published with faculty. Students are completing the Research Apprenticeship requirement in a timely manner and presenting their research at conferences. The time to completion of degree is primarily a concern for students entering prior to 1999 who are not working full-time on their degree. Those students admitted since 1999 are making good progress and are on track to complete their degrees within 5 to 6 years. Since the last self study, when no recent graduate had gone on to work in university settings on a full-time basis, two graduates have taken tenure track faculty positions and one has been awarded tenure.
3. The ability to collaboratively problem-solve is reflected in students’ coursework, field evaluations, student surveys, and their employability as graduate assistants. These data reveal that students have well developed competencies in systematic and data-based problem solving supported by strong interpersonal and collaborative skills.
4. Students are active members of professional organizations and participate in the intellectual community in the College. Their practicum and internship evaluations are very good to excellent

Action Taken:

1. We have actively engaged students in research earlier in the Program and students are active members of faculty research groups. Our students are now regularly presenting at national conferences including NASP and APA and are publishing their work in peer-reviewed journals.
2. We have funded students initially with fellowships and delayed assigning them to teaching assistantships until their third year. This has enabled them to focus on research and scholarship in the first two years of graduate school.
3. Established new internship sites that are implementing innovative practices. These field experiences provide greater congruence between the content of the program and field experiences available to students.
4. Submitted additional training grants for USDE funding.

Results from Action Taken:

1. The Program has made substantial improvements in cultivating an identity and community of research-practitioners who generate as well as disseminate research
2. The Program has provided students with experience in faculty research projects
3. The Program has successfully obtained funding for doctoral students to enable them to be full-time students
4. The Program has made significant progress in diversifying the students and faculty and has institutional processes in place to continue these successful efforts.
5. The Program has made substantial gains in the timely completion of program requirements (e.g., earlier completion of research apprenticeship, comprehensive exam, and earning degree)
6. The Program has made substantial improvements in disseminating and assisting graduates find jobs

Future Plans:

1. Survey alumni regarding their training and preparation
2. Survey employers and field supervisors regarding the performance of our students and graduates (achieved in regular face to face meetings, working on assessment through written surveys)