Traditional Assessment,Consultation, and Intervention Practices: Urban School Psychologists' Use,Importance, and Competence Ratings

This article examines the practices of school psychologists who work within an urban school district. Participants (N = 86) rated 20 specific practices on their current use, their importance, and their level of competence. Overall the school psychologists rated their involvement in traditional assessment activities as significantly more common than consultation/collaboration and prevention/intervention; however, they indicated consultation and prevention/intervention activities as significantly more valued than traditional assessment practices. Participants also noted prevention, intervention, and functional assessment as their top priorities for professional development. Thus, a practice gap was noted with regard to what this group of school psychologists' value and what they do. Results are discussed within the context of current educational reform initiatives.     

Assessment purposes and procedures in ESL/EFL classrooms

University instructors’ classroom assessments play a central role in and inevitably influence their teaching and their students’ learning. This paper reports on a comparative interview study conducted in a range of three ESL/EFL university contexts in Canada, Hong Kong and China. Six major aspects of ESL/EFL classroom assessment practices were explored: instructors’ assessment planning for the courses they taught, the relative weight given to course work and tests in their instruction, the type of assessment methods (selection vs. supply methods) that they used, the purposes each assessment was used for, the source of each method used, and when they used each method. University instructors were also asked to indicate what they saw as the advantages and disadvantages of the methods they used, and whether they took into account prior student knowledge when making decisions about what assessment methods to use. The findings contribute to a better understanding of ESL/EFL university instructors’ classroom assessment practices at the tertiary level in a range of three ESL/EFL university teaching contexts.     

Rater strategies for reaching agreement on pupil text quality

Novice members of a Norwegian national rater panel tasked with assessing Year 8 pupils’ written texts were studied during three successive preparation sessions (2011–2012). The purpose was to investigate how the raters successfully make use of different decision-making strategies in an assessment situation where pre-set criteria and standards give a rather strict framework. The data sources were the raters’ pair assessment dialogues. The analysis shows that the raters use a ‘shared standards strategy’, but when reaching agreement on text quality they also seem to make very good use of assessment strategies related to their work as writing teachers. Moreover, asymmetries in knowledge and participation among raters contribute to creating an image of writing assessment as a challenging hermeneutic practice. It is suggested that future rater preparation would gain from being attentive to the internalised assessment practices teachers bring to the fore when working as raters.     

An Expanded Ethical Decision-making Model to Resolve Ethical Dilemmas in Assessment

The current study expanded a newly developed ethical decision-making model for assessment using interview data collected from seven instructors from elementary school to higher education on their experiences of dealing with ethical dilemmas in assessment. The expanded model has the following new merits: One additional critical incident involving an ethical dilemma and two more types of conflict elements emerged. In addition to specific guidelines, more general guidelines to resolve ethical dilemmas were included. Most importantly, the impacts of decision-making on instruction, student learning, and future assessment inform teachers that appropriate assessment decisions should work with other teaching practices. Teachers can use this model to improve assessment practices in professional development sessions or assessment courses.     

IDENTIFYING STUDENTS WITH EMOTIONAL DISTURBANCE: SCHOOL PSYCHOLOGISTS’ PRACTICES AND PERCEPTIONS

From its inception as a disability category in the Education for All Handicapped Children Act, serving students under the special education category Emotional Disturbance (ED) has been a challenging task for school psychologists. In particular, the vague and ambiguous federal definition has created an environment in which inconsistent assessment practices and decision making are almost inevitable. In this study, we examined school psychologists’ (N = 214) assessment practices when determining initial eligibility for ED, as well as their perceptions regarding the language contained within the federal ED definition. Findings indicated that although school psychologists recognize the need for a multimethod, multisource assessment model when ED is a classification consideration, in many instances, their actual assessments are missing commonly recommended sources of data for making eligibility decisions, including classroom observations; parent, teacher, and student interviews; and behavior rating scales. The results from the study provide a useful overview of school psychologists’ assessment practices and are couched within the questions and confusion that have surrounded the federal ED definition since its codification into law.     

A comparative study of risk assessments and recommended interventions in Canada and Israel.

OBJECTIVES: Our goal was to examine how professionals assess children at risk and their parents, and decide on particular interventions. Specifically, we explored whether their assessments and decision-making are influenced by (1) the mother's degree of cooperativeness and/or (2) the country in which the worker lives (Canada or Israel). METHOD: Workers working in the child welfare field (N = 181) were presented with a case vignette and asked to assess the child and parents, and the degree of risk to the child, and make an intervention recommendation. The measures used in this study were based on previous work and field-tested in both countries. RESULTS: Significant differences were found between the two countries regarding workers' age and level of experience, with Canadians being older and more experienced than Israelis. Significant differences were also found between the two countries regarding the assessments of the child and parents and also of risk to the child, with Canadians assessing significantly more stringently than Israelis. The difference in levels of experience between the two countries did not explain these differences; however, it did influence intervention recommendations, only for those with 3 years or more of experience. Within this group, significantly more Canadians than Israelis recommended removing the child from the home. Regarding maternal cooperativeness, this factor did affect workers' assessments of the mother, but not of the father or child, or the worker's recommended intervention. Israelis' assessments were significantly more influenced by the mother's cooperativeness than Canadians'. CONCLUSIONS: Significant differences were found between the Canadian and Israeli professionals in this study in both their assessments and their intervention recommendations. These appear to reflect the different social, cultural, and political contexts in which these professionals work, and underscores the value of cross-national comparative studies in child welfare.     

Bilingual school psychologists' assessment practices with English language learners

This study explored bilingual school psychologists' assessment practices with students identified as English language learners (ELL). One thousand bilingual National Association of School Psychologist members were recruited nationwide, and 276 participated. Among those conducting language proficiency assessments of ELLs, many (58%) use comprehensive methods across four domains of language use. Participants generally use multifaceted assessment approaches and most (84.1%) assess acculturation as part of the assessment battery. Although few use interpreters, those who did reported a mix of best practices and discouraged practices in their use. Multiple regression results showed that engaging in continuing education activities about assessing ELLs predicted “best practices” when assessing language proficiency, selecting and using measures with ELLs with whom they share a second language, and using interpreters. A relationship was also found between engaging in applied preservice training with bilingual supervision and best practice behaviors assessing student acculturation. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Changing Models of Students and Teacher Assessment

Cognitive, constructivist, and interpretivist theories will dominate new directions for assessment of students and teachers in the 21st century. These theories will also stimulate the development of new validation strategies for examining the meaning and use of assessments by students and teachers. Clearly separating the accountability and instructional-use roles of assessments will lead to expanded opportunities for educational psychologists and new directions for their education. Reconceptualizations of measurement theory will also be undertaken by educational psychologists engaged in assessment in the next century.     

Developing a postgraduate work-based curriculum using an Intervention Mapping Approach

Advanced practitioner skill development has become an important focus in health service delivery as increasingly complex consumer needs, practice environments and national professional registration requirements impact on professional work practices. Increasingly, work-based or workplace learning experiences are being seen as an effective means for maintaining skill currency across working lives. Currently there is limited literature on pedagogical practices to support the educational and training requirements associated with development across a person's working life. This paper reports on an example of how an intervention mapping framework was used to guide the development, implementation and evaluation of a work-based praxis course for students in an interprofessional, online postgraduate mental health programme. The intervention mapping framework provided a stepped process to guide decision-making and allowed the incorporation of theory and evidence into the course design. This approach provided a stepped process to guide decision-making and allowed the incorporation of theory and evidence into the course design. While the use of the intervention mapping framework is often used within health promotion arenas, particularly for the effective design of health promotion educational programmes, it is argued that this framework can be utilised effectively when developing curriculum for use within higher education programmes.     

Assisting children and families who use augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) devices: Best practices for school psychologists

In developing individual education plans for children who need assistive technology devices, school psychologists will increasingly be called upon to assist in the decision making process regarding electronic augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) devices. A thorough assessment is required to select a device that is most appropriate for the child and their family. Assessment factors which must be considered within five domains (child, AAC device, service system, family, culture) are reviewed. A self-checklist is provided to help school psychologists develop and conduct thorough “best practice” assessments for the target population. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Motivation and self‐regulation assessments: Professional practices and needs of school psychologists

The current study examined differences between urban and suburban school psychologists in terms of their motivation and self‐regulation assessment beliefs, practices, and professional development needs. Using a sample of 96 urban and 47 suburban school psychologists sampled from 22 school districts in a Midwestern state, we found that the two groups were not differentiated across most survey items. Of primary practical importance, however, urban and suburban practitioners encountered motivation and self‐regulation referrals on a relatively frequent basis, perceived these processes to be valuable, and were strongly interested in professional development training. Interestingly, both groups of practitioners indicated that they do not routinely evaluate these processes in youth and were unfamiliar with many commercially available and research‐oriented motivation/self‐regulation self‐report scales. These results are consistent with the premise that there is a disconnect between the types of assessments that practitioners perceive to be valuable and the extent to which they actually engage in those practices. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Gender variance and educational psychology: implications for practice

The area of gender variance appears to be more visible in both the media and everyday life. Within educational psychology literature gender variance remains underrepresented. The positioning of educational psychologists working across the three levels of child and family, school or establishment and education authority/council, means that they are well placed to support knowledge, understanding and practice in this area. The literature highlights the importance of the terminology around gender variance, the differing representations of gender variance and the potential impact upon young people. Three practice examples demonstrate potential roles for educational psychologists and together with the literature highlight possible implications for educational psychology practice.     

Correlates of vocational practice among school psychologists

This study surveyed 362 school psychologists to: (a) identify the percentages of school psychologists who have had some involvement in the practices of vocational assessment, vocational counseling, consultation with vocational education teachers, and vocational program or curriculum development, and (b) identify factors that are associated with such vocational involvement. Results indicated that 30–40% of those school psychologists surveyed reported some involvement in vocational assessment, vocational counseling, and consultation with vocational education teachers, while only 12% indicated involvement with vocational program or curriculum development. Sex, experience, salary, perceived control over role functioning, and involvement in practices other than traditional assessment were found to be associated with increased involvement in vocational activities. Results also indicated that school psychologists who were certified guidance counselors, and who were members of the American Association of Counseling and Development, were more likely to be involved in vocational practices than were school psychologists who were not so certified or affiliated. Results are discussed in terms of their implication for involving greater numbers of school psychologists in vocational practices.     

Paternal involvement in the statutory assessment of special educational needs

There are manifold benefits of parental involvement in a child’s education, but there is evidence of gender imbalances in parental involvement. This article describes research into fathers’ involvement with educational psychologists (EPs) working with children undergoing statutory assessment. A content analysis of children’s files from one educational psychology service was conducted to assess the level of paternal involvement in EPs’ work, and semi‐structured interviews with eight fathers were used to identify factors that affected their involvement with EPs’ work. Fathers were less involved than mothers, and a number of factors affecting fathers’ involvement was identified. The discussion of findings is informed by Community Psychology, Ecosystemic Theory and the Theory of Planned Behaviour, and strategies to promote paternal involvement are identified.     

Rigour in moderation processes is more important than the choice of method

Processes for moderating assessments are much debated in higher education. The myriad approaches to the task vary in their demands on staff time and expertise, and also in how valid, reliable and fair to students they appear. Medical education, with its diverse range of assessments and assessors across clinical and academic domains presents additional challenges to moderation. The current review focuses on medical education, considering double-marking and benchmarking as two broad classes of moderation procedure, and argues that it is the process more than the type of procedure which is crucial for successful moderation. The advantages and disadvantages of each class of procedure are discussed in the light of our medical school’s current practices, and with respect to the limited empirical evidence within medical education assessment. Consideration of implementation is central to ensuring valid and reliable moderation. The reliability of assessor judgements depends more on the consistency of assessment formats and the application of clear and agreed assessment criteria than on the moderation process itself. This article considers these factors in relation to their impact on the reliability of moderation, and aims to help assessors and students appreciate the diversity of these factors by facilitating their consideration in the assessment process.     

Classroom-based assessment: Changing knowledge and practice through preservice teacher education

In this paper, the author investigates how the working assessment theories and practices of preservice teachers change in the enactment of those theories and practices in a mentored learning environment. Following 38 secondary English teacher candidates across time, the author tracks preservice teacher growth in knowledge about classroom-based assessment and assessment-driven planning. Teacher candidates reported they were strongly influenced by professional dialogue about planning and assessment in both campus classes and mentored field experiences. Although most teacher candidates grew to accept alternative assessments as valuable evidence sources indicating student learning, they recorded concerns that fell into five overlapping categories: designing goals; rubrics, grading and fairness; grading and motivation; validity of assessments; and time required to plan this way.     

Important Considerations for Assessment to Function in the Service of Education

Professor Gordon argues for a significant reorientation in the focus and impact of assessment in education. For the types of assessment activities that he advocates to prosper and positively impact education, serious attention must be paid to two important topics: (1) the conceptual underpinnings of the assessment practices we develop and use to support learning and instruction, and (2) the arguments and evidence we establish for their validity given the intended interpretive use. Such a focus highlights fundamental concepts that have long existed in the broader assessment literature – carefully defining and operationalizing our constructs and then validating the assessments of those constructs. What differs now are the conceptual frameworks, briefly outlined here, that can and must be used to guide both aspects of such work.     

Differential Use of Elementary Science Kits

The use of kits in elementary science classes is a growing trend in some countries. Kits provide materials and inquiry lessons in a ready-to-teach format for teachers to use in their science instruction. This study examined elementary teachers' instructional strategies, classroom practices, and assessment types in relation to the frequency of science kit use. A total of 503 elementary teachers from an urban school district received professional development, implemented kits in their classrooms for a year, and then completed a survey about science kit use and teaching practices. Despite similarities in demographic characteristics (gender, ethnicity, certification/educational level), there were significant differences in teachers' use of inquiry-based teaching and assessment practices by kit use. Teachers who reported using kits the most often were significantly more likely to report that their students designed and implemented laboratory investigations as well recorded, represented, and analyzed data. In addition, the high kit users indicated that they were more likely to use student groups, require students to use evidence to support claims, and use alternative assessments of student work including portfolios, notebooks, and long-term projects than those teachers who used kits less frequently. Those teachers who reported using kits the least often were significantly more likely to report having students practice for standardized tests. The role of kits in promoting reform-based teaching practices is discussed.     

What the Marketplace Has Brought Us: Item-by-Item Teaching With Little Instructional Insight

School districts across the country have adopted interim and benchmark assessments in response to NCLB pressures to raise student achievement, despite the lack of a research base. Thus, it is especially important that well-conceived, empirical studies of the effects of such programs be carried out. Various theoretical frames can help understand how teams of teachers might begin to use data to reflect upon and adjust their instructional practices. At issue is whether an idealized data-based decision-making theory of action will play out in practice. Or, will teaching-the-test practices instead be exacerbated? What we learn from the empirical studies reviewed here is that positive examples, where assessment results were coherently linked to curriculum and instruction, were facilitated by highly committed principals and teacher leaders. But, these examples were rare. More frequently, interim assessments results appeared to be used, item by item, to reteach steps in problems that were missed without attending to underlying concepts or gaining diagnostic insights.