School Psychology
Assessment Plan
 

Links to measures:
    Comprehensive Exam Rating Form
    Specialist Portfolio Rating Form

Overview of Plan

The School Psychology Program is located within the Psychology Department. Students earn both a Master's and a Specialist degree--the M.S. degree is a non-terminal degree earned as part of the Specialist degree program. While we have numerous evaluation components along the way, the Specialist Portfolio (completed at the end of the Specialist degree program) is intended to be a comprehensive documentation of skills learned throughout the entire graduate program.

The current assessment plan is a revision of the plan submitted in 1995. Our plan is organized around Student Outcomes which are keyed to our Program Goals as stated in the School Psychology Program Handbook.

Included in this set of materials are:

• A copy of the Program Statement of Purpose and Program Goals.
• A description of Assessment Components.
• A table of Student Outcomes based on the Program Goals and the relevant Assessment Component(s) for each Outcome.
• A copy of the Written Comprehensive Exam rating sheet.
• A Master's Oral Exam rating sheet.
• A Specialist Portfolio rating sheet.

Consistent with and in support of the mission of the University and the Psychology Department, the focus of the Moorhead State University School Psychology Program is to provide graduate education to enable graduates of the Program to be effective problem solvers in dealing with needs of children and others involved in the learning enterprise. Within a scientist-practitioner model and integrative perspective, the Program's primary focus is on educating Specialist-level professionals capable of working effectively in educational agencies.

Program Goals

The goals of the MSU programs include the following:

• To provide students with sufficient background in psychological theories so that they understand the bases of human behavior.
• To provide students with a working knowledge of school systems, educational issues, and educational curriculum.
• To provide students with (a) knowledge of the handicapping conditions that affect children, (b) the skills needed to plan effective remediation programs for these children, and (c) an understanding of and responsiveness to the needs of persons with handicaps.
• To provide students with the skills necessary to become astute observers of human behavior.
• To make students aware of the legal and ethical issues impacting on the practice of school psychology.
• To teach students to use a variety of educational and psychological tests for the diagnosis of learning and behavior problems.
• To teach students research techniques and measurement theory so that they can become critical consumers of the research literature and develop research studies designed to answer questions which arise in the practice of school psychology.
• To help students learn to use appropriate counseling techniques.
• To teach students methods of effective consultation with school personnel and of systems-level intervention.
• To make students aware of the needs of culturally diverse populations and to teach students nonbiased assessment techniques.
• 
  To provide students with a knowledge base in the use of emergent technologies.

Master's (M.S.) Written Comprehensive Exam: This exam consists of questions in six fundamental areas (Assessment; Issues and Ethics; Statistics and Research Methodology; Psychological Foundations; Educational/Special Education Foundations; and an individual Specialty Area). Students must pass five of the six questions with an average rating of 3 (on a scale of 0-5) from three readers. A copy of the rating sheet used by the readers is attached.

Master's Thesis and Oral Exam: The oral exam primarily focuses on the M.S. thesis, however, other questions related to the student's M.S. level training may be asked. See the attached outcomes sheet for the oral and thesis. This outcomes sheet will be completed by the orals committee at the oral examination.

NTE School Psychologist Specialty Area Exam administered by ETS: This multiple choice exam was developed by ETS in conjunction with the National Association of School Psychologists. It addresses six areas: Assessment; Prevention and Intervention; Evaluation and Research; Professional Practice; Applied Psychological Foundations; and Applied Educational Foundations. Individual student performance is reported in each of these areas. Total scores range from 200 to
800. We have set our minimum required score at 630 (the lower end of the middle 50% of scores in a national sample as reported by ETS--which is the 25th percentile).

Specialist Portfolio and Oral Exam: For the Specialist degree, students are required to submit a portfolio documenting that they have met program goals. The oral exam provides the opportunity for the student's examining committee to discuss these outcomes with the student and to make a determination that the outcomes have, indeed, been achieved. See the attached rating sheet to be completed by the examining committee in determining whether student outcomes related to program goals have been achieved.

List of Student Outcomes and Associated Assessment Components

1. Evidence of a knowledge base in psychology

• M.S. Comp. Exam
• NTE Exam
• Specialist Portfolio

2. Evidence of a knowledge base in education

• M.S. Comp. Exam
• NTE Exam
• Specialist Portfolio

3. Evidence of ability to develop assessment strategies and to interpret assessment data.

• M.S. Comp. Exam
• NTE Exam
• Specialist Portfolio

4. Evidence of writing ability.

• M.S. thesis
• Specialist Portfolio

5. Evidence of ability to conduct research, evaluate research and to convey research findings

• M.S. thesis
• Specialist Portfolio

6. Evidence of skill in designing and implementing intervention strategies for a variety of learning and social-emotional problems.

• Specialist Portfolio

7. Evidence of an ability to consult effectively with teachers, parents and other professionals.

• Specialist Portfolio

8. Evidence of an understanding of the needs of individuals with disabilities and from different
    cultural groups and of an ability to work effectively with various populations of students.

• Specialist Portfolio

9. Evidence of ability to function ethically in the role of school psychologist.

• M.S. Comp. Exam
• NTE exam
• Specialist Portfolio

10. Evidence of ability to use emergent technologies.

• Specialist Portfolio

Note. Outcomes occasionally encompass more than one of the Program Goals. For example, Outcome #3 (Assessment) addresses Goal #4 (observation skills) and Goal #6 (testing skills).

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an equal opportunity educator and employer | Accessibility Questions? | Contact assess@mnstate.edu | Updated 1/11/06
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