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Abstract:
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The authors collaborated and shared equal responsibility in all aspects of the development of this project, which reviews current research on best practices for school psychologists completing psychoeducational assessments and reports. Practicing school psychologists must be aware of changes in law and familiar with accepted best practices for following the law. For school psychologists new to the field it can be challenging to remember the various assessment and report guidelines, and experienced school psychologists may not be current in their knowledge of legal and ethical practices. The goal of this project is to collect current information on the best practices in conducting psychoeducational assessments and writing reports, and prepare a training workshop to present the information to practicing school psychologists. Referral guidelines and protocols for conducting legally defensible assessments are based on a review of federal law and psychoeducational literature. Best practices in report topics include information to include in the report, considerations for recommendations, strength-based writing, readability, ethical considerations, and the presentation of results. Research guiding best practice is widely cited, emphasizing the ideals of conducting a comprehensive psychoeducational assessment and writing a report that leads to a well-informed decision about a child’s eligibility for special education and their access to an appropriate education.
The prepared project is a 3-hour training workshop with a presenter’s manual, slides, and presenter notes. Any school psychologist can train a target audience of school psychologists working in schools. Workshop participants will evaluate a sample report. Participants will better understand legal and ethical challenges in conducting assessments and writing reports. |
