Although the field of school psychology has made progress toward the use of tests and assessment practices with empirical support over the past 20 years, many school psychology practitioners still engage in what can be described as low-value value assessment practices that lack compelling scientific support potentially taking time and resources…

The COVID-19 crisis and the subsequent social distancing measures have imposed numerous challenges on school psychologists balancing public health and students' right to a free and appropriate education. This article addresses one of the most contentious issues for school psychologists during the pandemic: how to ethically conduct valid…

Assessment is fundamental to school psychology, but its purpose has shifted from making predictions about children to improving outcomes for children. This commentary on the special issue focuses on screening and progress-monitoring decisions that can be used to solve student problems. We outline several psychometric and practical issues that…

Summarizes general features of domain of internalizing disorders in children and adolescents. Sees internalizing disorders, including depression, anxiety, obsessive-compulsive disorder, somatic disorders, and suicidal behaviors as associated with overcontrolled behaviors. Emphasizes need for psychologists and other mental health professionals to…

Notes that, although school administrators and parents are expecting school psychologists to be skillful in identifying and treating suicidal students, majority of graduate training programs in psychology do not offer specific training in suicidology. Reviews literature pertaining to suicidal youth, making certain distinctions so that more…

Discusses intelligence tests in relation to theory of cognitive processing which can serve as model for reconceptualizing cognitive functioning. Analyzes what is measured using Wechsler, Kaufman Assessment Battery for Children, Stanford-Binet IV, and McCarthy scales, and reflects on effectiveness. Suggests that Planning, Attention, Simultaneous,…

Describes significant gains that have been made over past decade in development of measures for assessment of depression in children and adolescents. Summarizes results of control-group psychological treatment studies that suggest that psychotherapeutic interventions with moderately depressed children and adolescents are effective. (Author/NB)

Describes dynamic assessment approach to psychoeducational assessment as differing from static assessment in that it is addressed to new goals, uses different content, relies upon different assessment methods, and yields results that are interpreted differently. Sees approach as holding promise as "nondiscriminatory" assessment and to assessment…

Uses both exploratory (EFA) and confirmatory factor analyses (CFA) to examine the factor structure of the WISC-III among White and Black students from the WISC-III standardization sample and a sample of 348 Black students referred for psychological evaluation. Results of the EFA provided evidence of a large first principal factor as well as the…

A historical perspective of the role of school psychologists is outlined, including a discussion of recent developments that encourage a reconceptualization of school psychologists' traditional assessment activity. (Author/LMO)

Provides a brief overview of functional behavior assessment and contrasts functional behavior assessment and traditional psychological assessment. Messick's (1995) theory of construct validity is presented and then applied to the evaluation of the validity of functional behavior assessment measures. Finally, implications and guidelines of current…

Focuses on one judgmental issue in cognitive psychology that depicts mixed results--subjects' use of and failure to use base rates in category predictions. Examines conditions that induce or prevent subjects from using base rates, and uses these conditions to analyze study of special education decision making. Evaluates potential of base rate…

Examines the uses of observations generated during testing through (a) qualitative synthesis of available research literature, (b) a study of a national sample of children, and (c) a study of children referred for psychoeducational evaluations. Results demonstrate that behavioral and temperament qualities evaluated by test observations are related…

Case study investigation refers to the relatively uncontrolled and subjectively described study of a single case. Several different types of case studies are reviewed including nontherapeutic, assessment, and therapeutic/intervention. Suggestions for improving case study investigations and recommendations for future case study research in school…

Describes recent advances in assessment and treatment of anxiety disorders in children and adolescents. Presents findings of descriptive studies of childhood anxiety disorders, types of assessment approaches used to evaluate anxiety, treatment strategies that have been applied to anxiety problems, and correlates of anxiety in childhood. Discusses…